Look After You
by YourRoyalC-RokHighness
Summary: Tony and Ziva are sent to Italy with the FBI to stakeout a terrorist. As they get closer to the terrorist, Tony and Ziva's feelings for each other are tested. Your Royal Highness and C-Rokkk co-authorship. TIVA!
1. Terrorist

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo sat at his desk with his feet propped up on it and chair leaning back as far as it could go. He wore his sunglasses and a famous DiNozzo grin, mostly because the blond in the sandwich shop he'd been chasing for about a year finally decided to go out with him, but only because she 'had nothing else to do'.

Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David walked into the squad room, just as Tony finished his phone call.

"I will see you at seven then, beautiful. Bye." After putting her gun in the drawer she leaned on her desk on her elbows and stared across the bullpen at her partner.

"Big date tonight, yes?"

Tony couldn't help but smile, "Oh yeah." He stood and walked over to Ziva's desk, "Mi-chelle. Michelle. Michelle. Michelle."

Ziva chuckled, "That blond in Sandy's?"

Tony nodded, "Yep."

"The last time you were in there she told you that if you asked her out again, she would have a restraining order put on you."

"Ziva, my dear ninja, you see...no woman can resist this charm. But, for some women, and it's a select few, it takes them a little longer to break."

She shook her head, "That is not necessarily true. I have been working with you for 4 years and I have resisted you." She scoffed at herself. _Liar_.

Tony laughed as he returned to his own desk, "It is only a matter of time." He joked. _Right, DiNozzo. _Ziva only rolled her eyes and began typing on her computer. Tony laughed again, "There is no reason to be jealous, Zee-Vah."

"I am not jealous. As a matter of fact, _I_ have a date tonight."

"You do? What's his name?"

"Richard."

"Michelle and Richard are going to have to wait. Dead Marine. Gear up." Tony and Ziva glanced up at each other before quickly standing, adding their weapon to their right sides and the NCIS backpack over their shoulder. McGee jogged up behind them.

"Where you been, Probalicious?"

"With Abby. Had to break into and update her firewall."

Tony chuckled, "I _bet_ you did." Gibbs raised his hand and slapped the senior field agent on the back of the head. "Thank you, boss."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"God, Ziva, could you have driven _any _faster?" Tony demanded as he groaned, stepping out of the truck.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I _am _driving a truck." She responded, "If you wanted me to go faster, we should have driven a car. I would have flipped it if I had gone any faster than 102."

Tony felt a sickly feeling rolling up his stomach and he nauseously stepped forward, "Yeah, you flipped something else."

She just rolled her eyes as McGee fell out behind him, onto the ground, "Boys, really." She said, exasperated, "You should be used to my driving by now."

McGee managed to get up off of the ground as Tony pulled on his cap, starting towards the back of the truck, where Ziva already was, "Yeah," He agreed, "I _should _be."

Sighing, she grabbed some gloves from out of one of the drawers and then snatched the camera from Tony's hands, "I will take that." She smirked as she started in front of him. He took the sketchpad and then followed after her, to the crime scene that was cut off by police tape, a lone dead marine sitting in the middle.

"Well," Gibbs smirked as he approached the three, McGee pulling up the rear with evidence bags and tweezers, "Looks like you _finally _have gotten the hang of the crime scene thing."

Tony grinned, "Yeah, well, it only took me how long boss?" His response was a swift slap to the back of the head and he nodded, "Yeah, right, got it, shutting up now, boss."

Ziva gave a closed laugh as she snapped a photo. Tony narrowed his eyes at her, "What are you smirking at, David?"

She turned to look at him and then quickly snapped a photo, causing him to blink thanks to the flash, his hand slightly up to block her shot, "What is the matter, Tony?" She questioned, in a baby tone of voice, "Afraid of a little light?"

He shook his head, "No, that's why I wear sunglasses."

McGee, from behind him, groaned, "Tony, just sketch the stupid scene, okay?"

"Who's got your panties in a little twist, McGrouch?" He questioned, looking at him.

He growled as he bent down next to the body, "None of your business, DiNozzo."

Tony shared a look with Ziva, who wasn't paying attention, as she snapped another photo of the body and then moved position and angle of the camera, walking around it to the other side, "Sexually frustrated?" He questioned and McGee looked up and rolled his eyes.

"Do you _want _to be slapped again?"

Tony laughed, "What? By you?"

Ziva stopped taking photos and looked up at the two, "No. By me." Gibbs said, appearing from behind him as he slapped him once more, "Get to work and stop harassing McGee."

Tony watched as Gibbs walked away and then sighed, "Well..." He paused to take in a breath, "I for one am extremely peachy right now."

"Because of your date tonight, yes?"

He grinned, "She's such a fox. Nice long legs too. She's perfect-"

"In bed?"

"Well...I don't know yet, but I'll find out tonight, just you wait. No, she's perfect in the fact that she has no idea about the cinema world. She's watched like...zero movies. And then, she does this dumb thing where she messes up words, and I always have to correct her, and it's pretty cute, kinda like-" he waggled his finger at her as he spoke and then paused before the words came out of his mouth. Ziva raised her eyebrows and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue, "Actually..." Tony finally found a word, "I hate it."

She just shook her head, "Sure you do." She muttered.

"Hey, speaking of dates." He pointed out, "Where are you and _Richard _going?"

She smiled, "I do not know yet. He picked it out. Said it was going to be a surprise."

"So where did you two lovebirds meet?"

"I ran into him while I was jogging...literally, I did not mess _that _one up." She proudly said, "We exchanged phone numbers and he called me that same day, inviting me out to dinner." She smiled.

"Oh, right, because I just randomly run into hot women while running and just exchange phone numbers." He scoffed, "This guy already _sounds _like a loser."

She nearly snorted, "You are jealous!"

He gaped, "I am _not _jealous!"

"Yes you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not! He just sounds like a loser cause he ran into you and then asked for your _phone number. _I mean, he could have said that you looked sexy in your tight little running outfit, but _no _he asks for some _digits. _Must be a total geek...like McGoo over here!" He gestured towards McGee, who was bent over the body. He paused and looked up at him, rolling his eyes before returning to the body.

"If you ran into a _hot _woman while running you _would _exchange phone numbers." Ziva rebounded back.

Tony opened his mouth to protest when McGee looked up from between them, at Tony, "She's got a point."

She smiled at Tony, who just stuck his tongue out at her, maturely of course, "No one asked for your opinion, McNumbers."

She just shook her head as she returned to the camera, Gibbs walking onto the scene, "Just spoke to the local LEO." He announced, "Said there were no witness'."

"Then who called it in?" McGee questioned.

"Neighbor said they heard a blast, but that was about it."

"So no one actually say the bomb go off?" Ziva questioned and Gibbs nodded.

"Yeah, that's about right, Officer David."

"Uh...boss?" McGee asked as two trucks started pulling up in front of the crime scene, as well as another car.

"Yeah, McGee? What is it?" Gibbs questioned, crouching down to look at what McGee just pulled from out of the dead man's body. Gibb+

s squinted to read the card, "Inactive?" he questioned.

Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "The marine is not...active?"

"Well not anymore, Zee-vah. He _is _dead."

She just narrowed her eyes at him, shaking her head slightly. Tony grinned and then turned his attention to the other truck and car that pulled up next to Ducky and Palmer, "Uh...boss?" He asked, "I got another question for you."

"What?" He demanded.

"Why is the FBI here?"

Gibbs turned so quickly around that he nearly got whiplash to face Agent Tobias Fornell, who was getting out of the car and starting towards them, two other agents behind him, one of them that neither of them noticed, and the other being Agent Sacks.

Tony groaned and Ziva grinned, "Just makes your day fruity, does it not, Tony?"

"Peachy, Ziva. The term is 'peachy', not 'fruity'."

"Whatever. Agent Sacks is here, and you just _love _him."

"Need I remind you that he thought that you were a double agent? And a traitor? And scum?"

"Why would I be dirt on the bottom of the bathtub?"

Tony groaned, throwing his hands up, "Read a damn dictionary, David!"

Shocked by his outburst, she just backed up a little and watched as Fornell and Gibbs faced each other, "Tobias."

"Gibbs."

There was silence between them before Gibbs spoke again, "Why are you here, Fornell?"

"Why is my agent dead?"

He furrowed his eyebrows together, "Your agent? I think you mean _my _marine."

"Inactive." He responded, shortly, "He's my agent now."

Gibbs smirked slightly, "Lucky him." He sarcastically muttered, but Tobias decided to ignore that, "Care to tell me _more_ or are you just gonna stand there?"

"Former Lieutenant Sean Williams, around 36, FBI agent for about three years."

"Any reason _why _someone would kill him?"

Tobias laughed, "I can think of many reasons."

"Besides him being a smart ass?" Sacks spoke up and Tony laughed.

"Look who's talking."

"I wouldn't say much myself, DiNutso."

Tony started towards him when Ziva took a step forwards and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, tugging him back, "It is not worth it, Tony." She whispered, and he looked down at her, nodding as the anger he had towards Sacks disappeared almost as if it was magic. She let go slowly, traveling down his arm and squeezing one finger before letting go of him, causing Sacks to raise an eyebrow.

Tobias continued talking to Gibbs, "The terrorist he was tracking might have something to do with it. He or anyone in his group wanted to kill him. He got too close to catching him one too many times. I'm actually surprised he stayed alive this long." He admitted.

"Name?"

"Elia Corrado. Italian native."

"What was he after?"

"We have fresh Intel that Corrado has ties to a terrorist cell in DC that Williams here-" He pointed towards the burnt former marine, "-was trying to infiltrate and extract plans that they have for America."

"So you think that Corrado set off the bomb?"

He nodded, "That or any member of the terrorist cell." He sighed, "Gotta admit though, Gibbs, Corrado doesn't stay in one place at a time. He's been all over the globe: Japan, Alberta, Africa, Egypt, Paris, London, Jerusalem. The longest that he's ever stayed in one place is Italy, but we assumed that that's because of his native roots."

"That or he's got a cell there himself."

"That too." He admitted and Gibbs stared back again at the body, "You have to act fast, track this guy."

Gibbs looked back at him, "Why aren't you doing anything? He's _your _agent."

"I'll get Agent Sacks-" He pointed towards him, "And Agent Taylor-" He pointed towards the woman on the other side of him, "To send over everything Agent Williams had on Corrado."

He nodded, "Do that." He then snapped his fingers, "McGee. Up." Tim quickly stood, "Get back to headquarters and get that Intel from the FBI."

He nodded, "On it, boss."

"DiNozzo, David!" he shouted and they looked up at him, "Finish up here and then go back. I want you to take the evidence to Abby and then help out McGee."

The two finished quickly and then started towards the truck, side by side as Tony sighed, "This is going to take a while, isn't it?"

"If by a while you mean long enough that you might have to reschedule your date with Michelle, then yes. It will." She grinned.

"Why are you so happy?" He demanded, "You'll have to do the same with _Richard." _

She laughed as she got into the driver's seat, starting the engine, looking at him and then straight forward. He got in and closed the door, buckling his seatbelt. Ziva didn't move the truck as she said one word, "Jealous."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am-" But he never got to finish, for Ziva slammed on the accelerator, the truck speeding so fast that Tony went flying backwards, the tires squealing on the pavement as they drove away.

* * *

"Whadda got?" Gibbs and Fornell asked at the same time, both of them with a large cup of coffee in their right hands.

"FBI Agent Williams was following a Italian Native Elia-"

"Knew all that at the crime scene, DiNozzo." Gibbs barked and Tony cleared his throat.

"Right...well...uh..." He grabbed the clicker from McGee and stepped in front of the plasma. "He's traveled everywhere, boss."

"DiNozzo, will you tell me something that I _don't _know?"

"Agent Williams was following him because they think he's a worldwide terrorist. He's on several of our friends' 'most wanted' list. He's never made it here because the FBI was _keeping_ information from us."

Gibbs turned to Fornell, "Oh, imagine that."

"Didn't think you needed to know, Jethro."

"Ah. Well, as usual, Tobias, you thought wrong." Gibbs stood from his desk and started to walk towards the back elevator, "DiNozzo, David, I want to know everything about this guy. Tobias, lets go have a visit with Abby." Tony let out a loud sigh and then groaned.

"What is wrong with you?" McGee asked.

"I have a _date_ tonight, McGoo. You would know what it was like to have to work late and _miss_ your date if you actually _had_ a date life."

"I have a date life, Tony."

"Ok fine. A sex life."

"Got one of those too." McGee retaliated.

"What's his name?"

McGee only rolled his eyes as Ziva spoke, "I do not recall Gibbs acutally saying that we would have to stay late."

"Ziva. Come on." He chuckled and walked over to her, squatting down beside her at her desk, "You should know, that when Gibbs gets a terrorist in his hands, he's not gonna stop until we _catch_ said terrorist."

"Yes, when we are working alone to catch him. The FBI has this one wrapped around their arm."

"You mean _finger_?"

"Whatever. My point is that we do not know what will happen. So you cannot say that we have to cancel our dates." Tony couldn't help but grin.

"You really like this guy, don't you?"

"What if I do?"

"Still scum."

Ziva rolled her eyes as Tony walked back over to his desk, "He is not scum, Tony. I think he is rather...sexy."

"Sure he is."

"You are jealous."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Guys!" McGee announced, "One of us _actually_ has to work, and if it's not going to be the two of you, it has to be me. You've already had this argument, so can you please, shut up?" Tony and Ziva turned their stare from McGee, sending a glance to each other before returning to the computers.

"Am not." Tony whispered.

Ziva let the corners of her mouth curl up just slightly, "Are too."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony looked down at his watch again, 1908h, it read. Fifty-two minuets until he was to be a Michelle's house, to pick her up for a evening of romance. Fornell and Gibbs were constantly walking from Abby's lab, to Autopsy, and then back to he squad room. "Anything?"

"Nothing, boss. Agent Balboa and Agent Slacks are following him. He's at a hotel, hasn't moved since." Gibbs sighed and sat down at his desk. He then stood and put his gun back on his belt.

Fornell opened his amrs wide and looked at his friend confused, "Where in the hell are you going?"

"To work on my boat, Tobias. Nothing to do but wait. And I'm not a very patient person."

"I noticed." Tony watched as Gibbs walked onto the elevator, followed quickly by Fornell. As soon as the doors closed, Tony jumped from his seat and so did Ziva, as if a fire was in the building.

"Call if anything happens, McGoo!" Tony yelled as they practically raced each other to the elevator, their thumbs battling to push the down button. The elevator finally made it back, and the pair jumped on it. "David, will you just chill?!"

Ziva gaped, "You '_chill_'!"

Tony let out a sigh, "I am chilled. In fact, I'm beyond chilled. I'm icy."

Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "Right..." As soon as she got to her car, she made it to her apartment, dressed for her date, added make-up, and was waiting at the door in 20 minuets, a record time for herself. Soon after, a knock "Hi Richard."

"Hello Ziva." He smiled, "You ready?" Ziva returned the smile and followed him out the door.

"Where are we going?" She asked once they made it out to his car.

He smiled at her, "I'm not telling." A few minutes later, Richard parked the car and walked around to the passenger's side, opening the door for her, which Ziva admitted, was a little weird for her. But she knew that it was somewhat custom for Americans. They walked in, Richard told the host his name, and they were seated.

The conversation was light and Ziva was actually having a rather good time, which was rare when she was on a date. Then, she heard something.

"I'm sorry, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Tony DiNozzo."

"Who?"

Then, she heard him again.

"Tony DiNozzo." She said again.

"Who is he?"

"Oh, hey Ziva. Small world, huh?"

Ziva stood and came face to face with her partner, his blond attached to his arm. "Why are you here?" She said through her teeth.

"Tosca is the best place to bring a date...obviously."

"You followed me!" She said.

"Whoa, calm down. I did _not_ follow you."

"Tony...aren't you going to introduce us?"

Tony laughed sarcastically, "Oh, right, yeah. This is Ziva David, she is my partner at NCIS."

"What's that?"

Ziva stared at his _girlfriend_, "Naval Criminal Investigative Service."

"Oh."

Tony continued, "And that's her date...."

Richard then stood, holding out his arm, shaking Tony's hand first, "Richard, nice to meet you." He took Michelle's hand and shook it gently before bringing it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on it.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other, "And this is Michelle." He said.

Richard stood to his full form, never taking his eyes off of Michelle. "Would you like to join us?"

"No, that's ok I-"

"Love to." Michelle replied. Tony and Ziva only looked at each other again as Michelle and Richard got into the booth, Michelle taking Ziva's seat. Tony let out a sigh and let Ziva scoot in first, so that she'd be in front of Richard.

"You look incredible." Richard said, only he wasn't talking to Ziva. She rolled her eyes. He didn't tell her that _she_ looked incredible.

Michelle giggled, "Thank you."

There was an awkward silence for a few minuets, in the meantime, Richard and Michelle didn't hardly take thier eyes off of each other. "So Richard," Tony started, breaking his glance from Michelle for just a second, "What do you do for a living?"

"Oh, I'm a doctor."

"I _love_ doctors." Michelle said.

"I bet you do." Tony mumbled, and then shared another disgusted look with Ziva.

"And uh, what do you do?" Richard asked.

"I work at a sandwich shop part time."

"Oh, that's good, because I _love_ sandwiches."

"You wanna go get one? I get a 50% discount."

"Oh absolutely." Richard said and quickly followed Michelle out of the booth.

Ziva scoffed and Tony turned to her, his mouth slightly open, "Did you see that?" He asked.

"Yes, Tony. I saw." She replied. She started pushing on his arm, "Move, I want to go home." She demanded.

He almost fell out of the booth, but managed to get to his feet, standing to his full form, "Ziva, wait." She stopped and looked up at him, "Since we're here..." He studdered with his words, "I mean...have you ever tried the food here? It's amazing."

"No, I haven't."

"Well, sit down. I'll treat you to Tosca."

"Tony...I really..."

"Ziva, please. With Gibbs on a terrorist run, this probably the _only_ time we'll be away from the office for a while."

Ziva let out a sigh and looked at him, and he did his 'puppy dog face'. "Ok, fine. Might as well make the most of this misrable night." She mumbled.

"Yes." The waiter came over and had a notepad in his hands.

"I'm sorry, I thought this was a party of four."

"No, well, it was a party of two, then it was a party of four, now it's back to a party of two. But this is a different two."

"I see. Would you like something to drink?"

"Wine would be nice," He looked over at Ziva, who was slightly shocked, "Right?"

"Yes." She replied. The waiter nodded and went away.

"So, I'm sorry that...well...we ended up at the same place."

Ziva half smiled, "It is ok, Tony." She shrugged, "Richard was not really my type anyway."

Tony scoffed, "Michelle wasn't my type either."

"She was breathing, right?" Ziva retaliated.

Tony sarcastically laughed, "Barley. That girl was dumber than a box of rocks." Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "Never mind. She was pretty stupid."

"I understand, Tony. I just do not understand these American idioms. Who comes up with them?"

Tony laughed again, "I don't know, Zi. They just...come around." Ziva smiled as the waiter set down the two wine glasses down on the table, Ziva immediately picking it up and taking a sip. Tony took a sip of his own and then spoke again, "Um...I don't want this to sound...weird or anything, but, you look amazing."

Ziva couldn't help but smile, and she felt a rush of blood come to her cheeks, "Thanks."

"I have no small talk." Tony admitted, "I already know what you do for a living." Ziva laughed.

"And there is not much that I do not know about you."

"Ha! I find that hard to believe." Ziva chuckled, and Tony saw it as a challenge, "Fine. How old am I?"

"38."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together, "What's my favorite movie?"

"James Bond."

"Who's my favorite James Bond?"

"Sean Connery." Ziva took another sip of her wine as she waited for him to conitue.

"How many years have I been at NCIS?"

"Eight."

"Favorite Beer?"

"Miller Light."

"Color?"

"Green."

Tony chuckled and wiggled his finger at her, "See, those are easy questions. What do I like most in a woman?"

Ziva laughed and sat up, so she was a little closer, "Her eyes."

Tony sat back in the booth, amazed. She knew him better than he knew himself. He cleared his throat and continued, after the waiter took their orders, "I know one. Favorite GSM issue?"

"May of 2008, 'Babes on Motorcycles'."

"Damn." He then grinned, "Boxers or briefs?"

Ziva chuckled and crossed her arms on the table, "Neither."

"She's good." He admitted, "What do I think is the most romantic way to kiss?"

She half smiled again, "In the rain."

He let out a sigh, "I know one that you could _never_ possibly know." Ziva chuckled and looked down at her lap as he spoke, "Which woman would I love to wake up facing each morning?" Ziva snapped her head up, her eyes looking directly into his. He took a sip of his wine as she stared at him, the _whole _time, his mind was racing.

_You._

Ziva cleared her throat, "Angelina Jolie?"

He snapped out of it and smiled at her, "Wrong!"

"Jennifer Lopez?"

He smiled again, "Nah-uh."

"Jennifer Aniston?" He shook his head again, "Carmen Electra? Pamela Anderson?" He laughed.

"No, but Pammi has some really big-"

"Tony." Ziva warned.

"What? I was going to say eyes."

"Sure you were."

"So do you give up?"

Ziva rolled her eyes, "Since I cannot possibly name all of the women that you fantasize about, then yes. I give up."

"Halle Berry." He said and then reached for his phone, where it was ringing from it's position on his belt, "She's sexy, funny..." He stopped as he looked at the caller ID, "It's McGee."

"Answer it." She demanded.

"What McGoo?"

_"You might wanna get back here. Our man is moving."_

Tony laughed, "I don't know about you, Probie, but I don't have a _man_."

_"I don't have time for this, Tony. I've got to call Ziva before I call Gibbs."_

"No need McWorry. I'm with Ziva. We'll be right there." He hung up the phone and took stood, emptying his wine glass first, "He's on the move."

Back at NCIS, Tim looked up at Abby, who was standing at his desk, a smile on her face, "He's _with_ Ziva."

Abby grinned even more, "I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"That Tony and Ziva are _so_ hot for each other."

* * *

It took them longer than expected to return to NCIS headquarters, for they had to pay for the wine that they ordered, and, the food, even though they didn't eat it. Tony insisted that they get to-go bags, however, so the expensive food didn't go to waste.

"It's about time you two showed up!" Gibbs barked as they entered the bullpen quickly, both extremely dressed up. Abby smirked and shared a look with McGee, who just rolled his eyes.

"Woo...Ziva!" She grinned, "You look _gorgeous_! Who were _you _dressing up for?"

She just blushed as Tony spoke up, "Our dates dumped us. But I found out one interesting thing, Abs." He walked towards her, "Ziva knows me better than I know myself! I gotta get one of those."

"Well get her later, DiNozzo, and shut up and listen." Gibbs snapped and Tony quickly went back to his desk, sitting down.

"Yes, boss." He nodded, obediently.

"So explain what you got, _again, _McGee?"

"Right." He nodded, moving to the computer as he started typing, screens changing rapidly on the plasma, "So our guy, Corrado, we were monitoring him, obviously, and he just bought a plane ticket. He went from here in Washington DC to Rome, Italy."

"Italy..." Tony grinned, "I like Italians." he looked over at Ziva, "I know that Ziva likes Italians as well. Especially hot, special agent Italians. With guns."

She rolled her eyes as Gibbs walked over and promptly slapped his head, "Focus on _Corrado, _DiNozzo, not _Davido." _

"Not Davido." He nodded, saying it slowly as if to drill it into his head, "Got it."

"Good." He said, and then looked over at McGee once more, "Continue, McGee."

"Well yeah...that's um...that's all I got, boss."

He nodded, "Great." He turned towards the two, "Gear up. And pack a toothbrush."

"Me?" Tony questioned and Gibbs stared at him, "Oh, right, yeah, me. Of course. I mean, who wouldn't pick me?"

"You and David, DiNozzo. Gear up. You're going too."

"To Italy?" Tony questioned, his eyes lighting up like the Fourth of July, or Times Square on New Years Eve.

"No, to the unemployment line. Yes! ITALY!" Gibbs nearly shouted, exasperated.

"For how long, Gibbs?" Ziva spoke up and Gibbs turned towards her.

"Long enough for you to see if he has any ties to any other terrorist cells in Italy, and why the hell he was in DC."

Fornell, from where he was standing behind Gibbs' desk, started towards Gibbs, butting in, "And you're going with a team from the FBI. Special Agents Terri Wood, Jason Scott, and Russell Johnson." Gibbs looked over his shoulder at Tobias and stared at him. He put his hands up, almost in surrender, "My team's already in place, Gibbs. Besides, my agents know this case inside and out. They were good friends with Agent Williams, they worked many overnight shifts with him."

The bullpen was quiet until Gibbs turned and stared at the two, who were just sitting at their desks, "Go home. Get packed. Get on the next flight to Rome." They continued to sit there and Gibbs groaned, "Why are you two still here?" He demanded, loudly, and they quickly jumped up, grabbing their guns, backpacks, and take-out bags from the restaurant before starting out of the bullpen, quickly, Ziva in front of Tony.

Gibbs watched as Tony let his eyes linger lower than her waist line and he sighed as Fornell chuckled, "Inform me when Corrado moves. DiNozzo and David aren't going to do anything but each other.


	2. Rome

"Ah...Italy." Tony grinned as he and Ziva debarked the plane in Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport. Ziva smiled back as they started through the crowd of people, Ziva following Tony as closely as possible. They had gotten their luggage from the baggage claim and were now trying to find the FBI team.

Before they left, they were informed by Gibbs and Fornell that the FBI's team was already in place in Italy, set up at a dingy hotel, the building across the street the supposed headquarters of the terrorist cell Corrado ran. And, they were also informed that they were going to be waiting with a car for them at the airport.

Tony managed to shimmy between some people, Ziva grabbed onto his jacket in order to keep up with him, "You know, this is where my roots are, Zee-vah." He grinned, "I'm a true Italian. Italian blood runs through my veins."

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, Tony, I know. You also speak Italian."

"So do you."

"Not fluently." She admitted, "And look at that, you _do _know something about me."

"Oh, I know _lots _about you, David." He grinned and she let her hand travel lower to his wrist, "Like your favorite tea. That Israeli crap you keep in my apartment."

"I care more for tea than coffee, you know that."

"Well this is more of a coffee town, so get used to it."

She groaned, "I never said I would not _drink _it, Tony. I just said that I _preferred _tea."

"Ah." He nodded as they stopped at the front entrance. He gestured to one of the chairs, and they both took their seats, setting their suitcases down onto the ground, "So..." Tony started, "How long do you think that we're gonna be here?"

"I would say a week, but no more than two. It depends."

"On what?"

She moved her eyes so that she was looking at him, "On how fast I can pick up on his movements."

"Oh ho ho! So it's all about _you _eh?"

She shrugged, "Tony, I am the only one that truly has dealt with enough terrorists to understand how they work. They may all be different, but they work in relatively the same fashion and speed."

They sat in a silence for a while before a woman with short, light brown hair approached them, "Are you Agents David and DiNozzo?" She questioned and Tony and Ziva both looked at each other before standing up.

"Yes." Ziva responded for her, and two men, who had been standing back by a plant started towards them, one of them fairly handsome, with brown, short hair, much like Tony's, but without any...gel. And shorter. And he was...stronger. Well, maybe not _stronger, _but he definitely had defined muscles in his arms. He flashed her a brilliant smile and she couldn't help but give him one back. Tony, standing beside her, subconsciously fixed his hair and moved closer to her, giving the man 'the look'. As if to say 'nuh-uh, buddy. _NOT _gonna happen.'

She extended her hand to them, "I'm Terri Wood," She pointed to her right, to the man that Ziva was smiling at, "This here is Jason Scott," she pointed to her left, to the man with black hair and glasses, "And this is Russell Johnson."

"Ziva David." She smiled at them, shaking all of their hands, Jason starting towards her first. Tony narrowed his eyes at him and stepped in front of him.

"Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo." He butted in, giving him his famous smile as he grabbed his hand, shaking it, "Great. Nice to meet you."

Eventually, they managed to shake everyone's hands, and then they stood in an awkward silence before they gestured towards the door, "Shall we? Our car's waiting outside."

Tony and Ziva nodded and Jason walked towards her, "You wouldn't mind if I took your bag for you, would you?"

"No, I would not." She smiled as he bent down and took it for her, Tony growling in the process. He didn't exactly understand _why _he was feeling this way, but he knew that it had to end. And soon. Before something slipped that shouldn't be said. Like the fact that she stars every night in his dreams.

The group started towards the door and out of the airport, into the black sedan that sat there. Jason took Ziva's bag and placed it in the trunk, leaving Tony to deal with his own by himself.

Jason got into the driver's seat, Terri shotgun. Tony opened the door for Ziva and let her get in first, allowing her to sit behind Terri, for Italy drove on the _other _side of the road, and next to the window. Russell got in after them, leaving Tony for the 'hump' in the middle. Uncomfortable, he groaned and Ziva sent him a look, "Tony." She said, gently touching his arm, "Would you like to switch seats with me?" She questioned and he went to go and tell her that it was perfectly fine when he watched that she was already getting up.

In the tight space in the car, Tony had to bend over, so not to hit his head on the ceiling. Ziva had to do the same and they carefully manuvered over, nearly knocking Tony down. She managed to squeeze herself between Tony and the seat, but then paused as she heard the significant thump of a head on the ceiling.

And then, she made a mistake and looked up at him, into his eyes, and caught her breath, their faces not even inches from each others.

However, before they could even attempt to get out of their predicament, with Tony nearly capturing Ziva against the back of the seat, the car was shot forwards. Tony fell against the window, sliding down the door to the seat while Ziva did the same, running into Tony.

"Ouch." He hissed, barely audible.

"Sorry." She muttered before prying herself off of him and sitting back down in her seat. Right as the two got situated and started to buckle their seat belts, Jason stopped the car in front of the hotel.

"So..." Jason started as they got out of the car, "Tell me about yourself, Ziva." Tony rolled his eyes. Could this guy _be _any more obvious?

She smiled as he walked around the back and opened up the trunk, pulling out Ziva's suitcase and then closing it. Tony growled as he opened it back up, grabbing his suitcase out and then following them as they talked.

Russell lagged behind Ziva and Jason, and Terri walked next to Tony, "So..." He started, "Uh...so you work with Fornell and Sacks, right?"

She just turned to him, "Shut up." And then promptly walked in front of him. Tony had to resist the urge to gape as they started up the stairs, for the elevator was broken. Tony had to admit; this hotel didn't give Italy justice at all. It was small and drab and run down. Or, as Ziva would say, 'run over'.

"Here are your rooms." Jason announced, pulling out two keys. He handed one to Tony and then one to Ziva, making _sure _that his hand lingered on hers for just a second or two. She smiled as she unlocked the door and started in, dumping her suitcase onto her bed. Tony did the same, taking in the small bedroom. It had a dresser up against one wall and a double bed that couldn't be much more than a full. Tony had to admit that he did enjoy the color of the comforter on the bed...green. A mirror was in front of the dresser, and a chair was shoved up in one corner, a bedside table in the other with one lamp, an alarm clock, and a telephone. The closet was small, but Tony managed to shove his suitcase in there anyways.

Tony sighed and then started out of the room, meeting Ziva and Jason in the hallway, "Oh, Tony, the bathrooms are public. Down the hall." He pointed towards a different colored door between two other rooms.

"My room is here." He tapped on the door in front of his, "Terri's is there-" He pointed to the one next to his, "And Russell's is right here-" He pointed to the one in front of Ziva's door. He started to the bedroom that was next to Tony's and Ziva and Tony furrowed their eyebrows together.

"Whose is that?" Tony questioned as Jason opened it up, revealing computer monitors on tables, the bed shoved into the corner, "Well hey! I didn't know that McGoo was coming!" he grinned at Ziva, who just rolled her eyes.

"This is surveillance, Tony." Jason explained, gesturing to the camera in front of the window, "I would suggest setting up your own laptops and web cams in order to keep in contact with NCIS. These are only hooked up to the FBI-" He placed his hand on top of one of the monitors, which showed an ally in between buildings.

"How many cameras do you have set up?" Ziva questioned.

"Well when we first got here, Terri went around and placed camera bugs in certain areas outside, in order to get a better angle on Corrado."

He gestured to the monitors, "These have been set up for about three days."

Terri appeared in the doorway, a cup of coffee in hand as she entered the room, "He's made no movements whatsoever, we just got footage of him entering the building. He hasn't come out. We would _probably _need to get someone to go in there, but we don't know anyone with stealthy spy moves to do that." She took a sip of her coffee.

Tony perked up, "Hey!" he grinned, "What about Ziva?" He questioned, "She's a ninja though, not a spy."

Ziva rolled her eyes and Terri nodded, "When the time comes." She plopped down on the bed, sitting Indian style as she looked at Jason.

"Great." He smiled at Ziva, "Set up, get in touch with your people, and then come to my room, okay?"

Ziva nodded, "That sounds great."

"Good." He grinned and then turned to Terri, "Let's go."

They both started out of the room, leaving Tony and Ziva there, "I will get the laptops, cameras, and that wad of cords you _insisted _on bringing."

"Hey, I didn't insist anything, sweetcheeks, I just said that McGeek told us to bring it." She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I will go and get it."

Ziva returned about a minute later, this time with lots of cords and everything else that they needed.

* * *

Several curse words and other phrases later, in fact, about thirty minutes later, they figured out where all of the cords were supposed to go _and _they managed to get an MTAC feed to Gibbs.

Tony grinned as they bent over the screen, "Hey boss!" he smiled, "We're uh...here!"

"We just finished setting up surveillance for Corrado. The FBI team already had most of it in place."

_"Good work you two." _Gibbs nodded, "_You should probably make a list of-" _He paused as Tony lifted it up, shaking it proudly.

"Already did it, boss!"

_"Great. Then take the rest of the day off. But if you see _anything, _you contact me, got that, DiNozzo? You tell Ziva and then you contact me, not the FBI team."_

He nodded, "Gotcha." They paused for a moment of silence before Tony spoke again, "Oh, hey, boss?"

_"What?" _

"You know how I love pizza?" He watched as he rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well Italy has the best-" But he stopped as he was greeted by static, meaning that Gibbs had already turned the feed off. Tony sighed, "Well he was charming, wasn't he?"

"It is Gibbs." She responded as they started out of the room, "What did you expect?"

"Well yeah...that's true." He nodded as Ziva knocked on Jason's door. She barely even finished knocking, for he was already opening it up, as if he was waiting for her or something.

"We finished setting up," She informed him, "And I thought that you would like to know that we were given the rest of the day off." She smiled and he grinned.

"Great! Let's go get dinner. I know this great restaurant down the block that has the _best _pasta sauce."

She smiled, "Sounds lovely."

"Great!" Tony grinned, stepping towards them, "I'm hungry too, let's go!"

"Tony..." Ziva sighed, "I think he meant just...us."

"But I speak Italian."

"So do I." She rebutted.

"Not fluently." He fought back and she narrowed her eyes at him.

Jason spoke up, "Why don't we _all _go to dinner? That way we could all get to know each other a little better?" Tony made note that he gestured that question to Ziva.

She smiled, "That is lovely. We would love to go."

"Great!" he grinned, "I'll tell Terri and Russell and then we can be on our way. Oh, and it _is _a rather fancy restaurant, so...you know....you could...dress up a little?" He smiled, looking her up and down.

Tony ran a hand through his hair and had to turn around, biting the inside of his lip.

The guy was totally thinking _horrible _thoughts about Ziva. Thoughts that were completely inappropriate. And he could tell just by the way that he was standing there, just by his personality that he would lead Ziva up to the point to her giving herself away to him and then dump her the first chance the sex goes from amazing to 'great'.

And he _wasn't _going to let that happen to Ziva.

He knew just how many women he'd hurt by doing the exact same thing from not only Jeanne but from other women as well.

Like...Ziva.

"Come on, Zi, let's go." Tony tugged on her arm and she left the doorway reluctantly, not fighting him as he thought she would. Once the door to Jason's room closed, Ziva snatched her arm away from Tony, turning quickly on him between their rooms.

"You are _so _jealous."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!" Ziva opened her mouth to argue back when he put a finger up, "Get dressed, okay? And stay away from him, got it?"

"You cannot _tell _me who to date, you are not my father."

"Thank god for that, huh?" He questioned, "Look, Ziva, he's scum."

"Jealous."

He groaned, "Am _not_!"

Ziva only rolled her eyes, letting out a noticeable sigh as she walked into her room, slamming the door behind her. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she walked over to the closet, pulling out the small, blue party dress that had a black belt around it. She shrugged and threw it on the bed, pulling off her clothes in the process.

Her mind raced, '_It is none of his business who I date. He cannot tell me who to date. He is not my father. Why does he care?' _Just after she slipped on her dress, a knock was heard at her door. She smiled and quickly slipped on her heels that she had already planned on wearing, hoping that her visitor was _Jason_.

She opened the door and her smile immediately dropped, revealing one Tony DiNozzo on the other side. She groaned, "What do you want, Tony?" She asked. Even though she could kill him a million different ways, she _had_ to admit, the man did look handsome.

Tony, on the other hand, could barely speak when he saw his partner. In fact, he had to look twice to make _sure_ it was his partner. He cleared his throat when he realized that he was staring at her. "You look...nice." He managed. Ziva only rolled her eyes and tried to shut the door when he put his foot in front of it, preventing it from going any further.

"Tony! Move!" She said.

"No, Ziva, I want to talk to you."

"I do not have time for this." She said and walked back into her room. Tony followed and closed the door quietly. "What?" She demanded, looking at him again.

"I'm sorry I got in your business, Zi. But I'm telling you-" Ziva put her finger in the air to stop him from speaking.

"I do not want your advice, Tony."

"Ziva I know guys like him!" Tony yelled. Ziva narrowed her eyes at him and put the brush on the dresser.

"Why, because _you _are a 'guy like him'?"

Tony sighed, "That was uncalled for." He stuffed his hands in his pocket and turned around, walking towards the door.

Ziva gaped, "And you telling me who to date is _not_ uncalled for?!"

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and wiggled his finger at her, "I'm not telling you who to date. I'm telling you who _not_ to date."

She took a step towards him and narrowed her eyes, "You. Are. Not. My. Father."

"I never said I was. I'm your partner."

"Nowhere in Gibbs' rules does it say," She used her hands for quotations for emphasis, "Your _partner_ is to protect you from dating."

"This has nothing to do with Gibbs. Or NCIS." He pointed to her, "You," and then to himself, "And me."

She let out a sigh, "I can take care of myself."

Tony shrugged, "I know that."

"Then why are you still here?"

"I'm trying to stop you from dating that...bastard."

"I will date who I want to date, Tony." She said, her voice almost at a normal tone again.

"He only wants one thing, Zi!"

Ziva laughed sarcastically, turning her attention back to her hair, "What if I want that as well, Tony?"

"No, Ziva. I know you're not that kind of woman." Tony retaliated.

She walked over to him again, standing so close that she could feel the heat radiating off of his body, and looked deep into his green eyes, talking through her teeth. "I have changed." Tony stared at her for several seconds before he walked away from her, and out of the door.

He shook his head as he walked back to his room.

She _had_ changed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony walked out of his room and walked down to the lobby, or, at least, that's what he _thought _it was, the agreed meeting place. As he walked in, Terri and Russell only nodded at him and then continued with their conversation. He rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself, "Great. This is going to be _real_ fun."

A few minuets later, Agent Jason Scott walked in, a smile stretched across his face. "Hey To-nay. What's up?"

Tony had to stop himself from punching the man, for he really didn't want to talk to him, "I'm just...waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

Tony stared at him, "To go...eat?"

"Oh yeah, right." He laughed, "I thought you meant that you were waiting on Ziva."

Tony crossed his arms and scoffed, "No."

"So you two aren't a _item_?"

"That is the _last_ thing we are. Ziva is my partner." He snapped.

"Good. I sure would like to get in on that."

"Dude look, I don't think she's your type."

"Hell yes she is!"

"My advice? Stay away from her." Tony said, staring right into his eyes. Jason laughed and hit Tony on the back, just as Ziva joined them in the lobby.

"Didn't ask for your advice." He replied. Tony watched as Jason then walked over to Ziva. "Wow, you look great Ziva."

Tony rolled his eyes as he followed the rest of the group out to the cars.

Jason Scott was a bastard.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The two cars pulled up at a very small building, the outside didn't look like a restaurant at all. As soon as they were inside, they were seated in a circular booth. Russell and Terri sat down first, followed by Jason, who made _sure_ he sat by Ziva. Tony awkwardly sat on the other end, across from Ziva.

Small talk surrounded the table until the waiter walked up, speaking in heavy Italian, confusing them all, including Ziva, who only picked up a little. Tony rolled his eyes, "He asked what everyone wanted to drink." The rest of the group nodded and quickly made their selections, sending the waiter off. Tony would occasionally look up and at the four others, but mostly he kept his head down, twisting his fork on the tablecloth.

He_ really_ hated being there.

After Tony ordered everyone's meal in Italian for them, the waiter disappeared again, and Tony turned his attention back to his fork game. "So, Tony," Jason started. Tony looked up at him, "Where'd you learn to speak Italian?"

Tony shrugged, "I'm Italian. I guess I learned it from my ancestors."

"Oh right." Jason said and then put his arm on the booth, around Ziva's shoulders, "Where are you from, Officer David?"

Ziva chuckled, "I am Israeli. Tel Aviv."

"Oh really?" Jason asked as he turned so that he was facing her. He dropped his hand down to her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, "Are all the women as beautiful as you are?" Ziva only smiled as she felt a small rush of blood come to her cheeks from embarrassment. Tony gripped his fork even harder, to prevent himself from throwing it at the phony that was flirting with his Ziva._ 'Whoa, DiNozzo. That is not your Ziva. That is just Ziva. Your partner. Get it straight.' _

After what seemed like _hours_ of small talk, the food was finally served, and Tony could finally use his fork for what it was supposed to be used for.

A few bites in, he heard his partner laugh. He looked up at her and narrowed his eyes.

"Stop, Jason." She said with a smile, but it was firm, as if it was a warning. Under the table, Ziva moved his rough hand from her bare knee. He smiled back and Ziva glanced over at Tony, who quickly looked down at his food again. He used his fork to move the whatever-it-was on his plate around. He wasn't very hungry, for the lovely "couple" on the opposite side of the table made him lose his appetite.

"Sorry." Jason said softly.

A few more minuets of silence and Russell started on one of those never-ending stories that the FBI people always loved to tell, no matter who they were. Tony thought about catching a cab back to the hotel, watching whatever crappy channels the 12-inch TV had to offer.

Ziva was half listening to Russell, and half eating her food. It wasn't bad, but she definitely had better. She gripped her fork tighter when she felt the same rough hand on her knee again, only this time, he moved his hand further up, so that it was just under her skirt. She looked at him and snatched her leg away, sitting as far as she could away from him, without falling from her seat.

And slowly, Ziva came to the realization that Tony was _right_.

His hand found her leg again, and she stood from the table, throwing her fork down in the process. Tony stared at her for a few seconds before turning his attention to her _buddy_ next to her, who was also staring in the direction Ziva just disappeared to. Russell stopped his story and Terri spoke next.

"Maybe she really had to pee?" She commented, earning a laugh from the other two men.

A few seconds later and Tony felt his cell phone buzz from it's position on his belt. He opened it to reveal a text message from Ziva.

_'Bathroom, now.'_

Before he had a chance to move, his phone buzzed again, with another new text message.

_'I need you.' _And with that, he stood quickly from the table, sending another glance at Jason. Russell furrowed his eyebrows together, looking at Jason.

"What's with tweedle dee and tweedle dum?"

"I don't know."

Terri raised and dropped one shoulder, "Maybe they both had to really pee?"

As soon as Tony rounded the corner at the bathrooms, he heard Ziva shut her phone, so he walked over to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly.

"Look I do not-" She started, but stopped when several women passed them in the tight hallway. She groaned, grabbing him by the wrist, "Come here." She demanded, pulling him in to the Men's Restroom. Once inside, she turned the small knob on the door, locking it. Her eyes were glazed with tears, but she held them back.

"What's wrong, Zi?" He asked again. She let out a sigh, and Tony could tell that she was angry as well.

"You were right." She said softly, but then put her hand up, "I do not need you to say you told me so, Tony."

Tony put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, "Wasn't going to."

Ziva took a step closer to him, "I am sorry...for what I said."

"Sign of weakness, Ziva." He mentioned, earning a small smile from her. Tony smiled, but then became very serious, "What did that bastard do to you?"

"It is nothing I-"

"No, Zi. What did he do?" He asked again, this time, his voice was firm and to the point.

Ziva let out another long sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, "He just...put his hand on my leg." Tony fumed as she continued, "It is my own fault, Tony. You tried to warn me and I did not listen. I should have trusted you."

"It's not your fault that he's a bastard, Zi." Tony said. "Now, I'm gonna go out there and punch his lights out." Ziva grabbed his wrist again.

"No, Tony." He turned back to her.

"He had no right Ziva."

She furrowed her eyebrows together and dropped his wrist, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Why do you care so much, Tony?"

Tony shook his head, shrugging one shoulder, "You're my partner."

"I can handle him." She mumbled, and noticed that he was very close to her, as she leaned on the wall in the bathroom, the cold tiles on the bare skin of her back.

"I can too." Tony said, his voice just as low as hers. She stared at the floor until she saw his shoes, for now he was standing right in front of her. She looked up at him and he tentatively put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing lightly. "You sure you're okay?"

"I am fine." She replied.

He nodded, "Ok."

"We should probably get back to the table."

Tony shook his head, continuing his path closer to her face, "I'm not worried about the table."

"Tony..." She said. His lips were merely inches from hers, until banging was heard through the bathroom door, Italian being screamed at them. He let out a sigh and cleared his throat, quickly taking a step from her.

"He's not happy." Tony mumbled. He flicked the lock and three men rushed in, almost running over Ziva in the process. Tony held the door open as Ziva walked out. He shook his head at himself, "Damn it, DiNozzo."

Taking long steps, Tony made it to the table the same time as Ziva did. Tony quickly stepped in front of her, taking her plate from it's position next to Jason and placing it next to his own. Terri looked up at him, confused. "Ziva, you can sit here. Everyone if you would please, schooch."

Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "Schooch?"

"That's right, schooch. Move down please. Thank you." He held his arm out, "Zi?" He said and Ziva half smiled at him as she sat down. "Ziva felt a draft over there. It's warmer over here. Hope you don't mind." Tony said, smiling like an idiot at Jason.

Jason returned the fake smile, taking a sip of his wine before answering, "No, that's fine."

"Good." Was Tony's reply.

The two men stared at each other for a few more seconds until Russell spoke, "So you two didn't hear the rest of my story. Anyway, I told him..." Tony took a sip of his own wine, returning his stare to him.

He wanted to _kill_ him.

Ziva laughed, and he looked at his partner, who now seemed to be having a slightly better time.

He smiled at his thought, deciding that he'd let _Ziva_ kill him.

For she could do much, much worse.

After dinner was finished and the bill was paid, they all exited the restaurant silently, Tony making sure to stay close to Ziva, and making sure that Jason was nowhere near her.

Terri, and Russell went in one car, after they insisted that Jason could take Ziva home, so Tony could ride with them.

Unfortunately, that was _exactly _what he wanted to do.

Tony, naturally, protested, leaving Terri and Russell in one car and Jason, Tony, and Ziva in the other. Tony quickly took shotgun so that Ziva could sit in the back, behind the driver's seat. Well, what _would _have been the driver's seat if they were in America.

The car ride was silent, Jason trying to ask Ziva questions about her personal life, but she ignored every single one. Tony had to resist the urge to punch him, so he literally sat on his hands.

Once he parked the car, Ziva couldn't have run out of there fast enough, zooming into the hotel and up the steps.

Jason furrowed his eyebrows together, confused by her behavior. Tony walked around the car, running a hand through his hair and heading towards the entrance, like Ziva had, and Russell and Terri were doing at the moment.

However, he was stopped when he felt a small tug on his arm. He turned around, and Jason was standing there. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

He had promised himself that he was going to let Ziva kill him.

"What?" He questioned.

"What's up with Ziva?" He asked, watching the door, where she retreated.

Tony shrugged, "Maybe she just really had to pee." He grinned and then quickly moved in front of him, opening up the door but then pausing when he heard Jason from behind him.

"Hold on, Tony."

He groaned and turned around, "Look, I told you to stay away from her." he growled, taking a step towards him, "You're gonna find out _why _I told you to stay away from her if you don't leave her alone."

He laughed, "What? You gonna beat me up or something?"

Tony let his eyes scan over the well defined arm muscles and he swallowed, "No." He said, "More like what _she's _gonna do."

"She can't do anything!" He laughed.

Tony stared at him and then chuckled, letting it grow into a full out laugh as he threw his head back, "You just keep thinking that." He laughed, wiping the tears from his eyes as he shook his head and started into the hotel, leaving Jason there on the sidewalk to ponder in his thoughts.

He made it up the stairs and then realized one thing.

It was _freezing. _

Rubbing his arms with his hands, he shuddered and moved towards his bedroom before pausing in front of Ziva's.

Looking around, he tapped on the door, "Ziva, it's Tony." He called, and the door opened nearly seconds later, revealing a trembling Ziva, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on, socks covering her feet.

"So you're not the only one." He commented, looking at her.

"It's freezing." She chattered out, "I think that Russell might have mentioned that the heater went out."

"You don't have a sweatshirt?" He questioned, and she shook her head.

"Only my NCIS jacket and my long winter coat." She admitted, "But neither of those are comfortable to sleep in."

He pointed towards his room, "Oh! You could borrow one of _my _sweatshirts, I brought two!"

"No, no." She put her hand up and motioned, "That is perfectly fine, Tony, thank you."

"Zi, you're nearly blue, come on."

"I am _fine, _Tony." She smiled, "Thank you." She nodded, quietly.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Goodnight."

She smiled, a closed one, "Buona Notte."

* * *

The room was dark, the only light the moonlight that shown through the window, dancing on the hardwood floors.

A cocktail dress was thrown carelessly on one of the brass posts of the bed, a silk, cream colored bathrobe on top of that.

A woman lay in bed, her curly locks tumbling down her shoulder and onto her chest, a bed sheet, a comforter, and a blanket she brought from home pulled up to her neck, as high as it could go. She shivered under the covers and let out a deep breath, visibly seeing the breath in front of her.

She shifted her position in bed, groaning and then nearly gasping as she hit cold sheets. She quickly moved back to her previous position, where she was already warm.

She shivered again and then buried herself deeper into the sheets. She almost wished, no, _definitely _wished that she had taken the sweatshirt that Tony had offered her.

She stared out the window and once one more shiver ran through her body, she finally stood up, quickly moving towards the door, throwing it open and then squinting terribly, the lights bright in the hallway.

Walking silently, she made her way to Tony's bedroom door, knocking quietly on it.

All she received was a groan and then a, "Go away!"

Inside, Tony buried his face into his pillow. If it was Jason asking him more time about Ziva, he was going to kill him. He slightly lifted his head so that he could see the alarm clock next to his bed, reading 0237.

He shoved his face back into his pillow as the door opened. He _knew _that he locked it. And the feet were light and padded...

The visitor closed the door silently behind them and he smiled into the pillow, "Ziva."

They paused, and he didn't move his face from it's location, "Sorry for bothering you, Tony." She quietly said and he turned his head slightly in the pillow, even though he still couldn't see her.

"It's fine, I-" He paused and then took in a deep breath, sniffing the air.

She furrowed her eyebrows together, "What are you doing?"

He finally sat up and turned on her, "Did you switch shampoos?" He questioned, and she backed up slightly, literally, her eyebrows furrowing together even more.

"What?" She demanded, finally finding her voice.

Tony looked down at the comforter, as if he was embarrassed, "You just...uh..." He paused, "...smell..." He took in a deep breath and looked up at her, "...different." He finally managed.

On the inside, she smiled, but she put her hands on her hips anyways, putting on an angry facade, "And _why _are you sniffing me, Tony?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows this time.

He spoke quickly, as if he didn't have a valid excuse, "Because you're a woman and I'm a male, and that's what I do! I sniff people, okay!" He nearly shouted, exasperated.

"Oh really?" She questioned, crossing her arms instead, "And what does Gibbs smell like?"

"Hah!" Tony shouted, "That's easy! Bourbon and a construction site."

"McGee?"

"Nerds and sweat from when he loses a life in that elf lord game of his." He grinned and even she had to chuckle a little. Barely a laugh escaped her throat.

She sighed and then looked around the dark room, "Where is that sweatshirt, Tony? I would like it now."

He grinned as he pointed to the suitcase in the closet, "Why?" he asked, "Wanna learn _my _scent?" He questioned seductively.

She stood, the first sweatshirt she could find in her hand as she looked at him, "I already know your scent, Tony." She shrugged one shoulder, "Sweat."

He dropped his mouth open before quickly closing it, "And...?" he prompted, motioning with his hand for her to add something else.

"Attitude by Giorgio Armani." She said, no tone in her voice before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

Tony sat back on his pillow and smiled at himself, "She knows what I smell like." He said to himself, almost in a daze.

Once back in her own room, she slipped the sweatshirt over her head and moved back under the covers, feeling warmer already.

She may have been tired, but her mind was racing, causing her to have troubles falling asleep. Pulling the long sleeves of the sweatshirt over her hands, she pulled her legs up to her chest, pulling the hood over her head, since heat does, in fact, escape fastest from her head.

Shivering, she felt Jason's hand on her thigh, running up it. Shuddering even more, she pulled the blanket tighter around her body, closing her eyes.

She briefly thought back to her and Tony's little spat before dinner and she felt horrible. She had in fact apologized to him, but she felt as if it wasn't enough at this point in time. She felt absolutely horrible. She knew that she should have listened to him, she really should have, but she didn't. She had only done it to get Tony jealous, for reasons she wasn't even sure of at the moment.

And how come she wanted, oh so _badly _wanted Tony's arms around her, holding her close to him as they slept in _warmth? _

Maybe she just wanted to be warm.

Maybe it was just because she was wearing his sweatshirt, but she honestly didn't understand the feeling.

All she knew was that Tony had been right about Jason being a bastard and all, and only wanting one thing.

She remembered when Tony was like that, before Jeanne, before they were even good friends, so, to her, it made sense that he could pick out someone that was the shadow of what he used to be in a crowd.

Cursing to herself in Hebrew, she took in a deep, cold, shaky breath of air as she blinked.

Sleep would come hard to her tonight, and she knew that it wasn't just because of the time change or jet lag or any of that. In fact, she was so accustomed to it, that her body almost changed automatically.

She thought back to when she had dragged Tony into the Men's bathroom at dinner tonight. He had been so determined that he was going to get even with Jason for what he did to her, it was almost scary.

And then...

She felt her heart race accelerate.

And then he...they had almost kissed. _There, _in the bathroom in Italy.

At least, that's what she thought, no, _hoped _that he was trying to do.

She sighed as she felt something wet roll down her cheek, and she brushed the lone tear away, blinking away the others that were briming on her eyelids, threatening to fall.

She knew two things:

One, Tony would never feel the same way that she did about him, no matter how obvious she made her intentions.

And two?

She was never going to get any sleep tonight.

Slowly, another tear rolled down her cheek and she stifled a sob as they fell down, for Tony, for the fact that she didn't trust him, and, for once, herself.

She sobbed the night away as the eternal city slept.


	3. Not Yours, Mine, and Definitely not Ours

_Knock._

_Knock._

Ziva David groaned and buried her face deep into the cold pillow, pulling both her arms and her legs closer to her body in order to conserve the most heat she possibly could. She didn't really have the energy to yell at whomever was knocking at her door, so she tried to ignore it as best as possible, groaning like a caveman at every knock that came.

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock. Knock._

They came faster and faster before they stopped, pausing for a second, that Ziva smiled at, "Your Prince Charming is here to awake you from your slumber, Sleeping Beauty!" Tony's voice came through the door and she just groaned even louder, turning to look at the brown, beat-up door. She didn't move from her spot, however. Tony paused once more, "And I slayed the dragon at McDonald's and got us some food, open up."

Letting out another loud groan, she reached her hand over to the bedside table and fumbled around blindly for the key, capturing her tiny fingers around it. Once she had it firmly in her grip, she chucked it at the door, sliding through the crack at the bottom before burying her head back into the pillow.

She heard Tony fumble with the key in the lock, the door opening right as she turned in the covers, so that her back was facing her partner.

He closed the door behind him and then dropped the key onto the bedside table, stopping in front of Ziva.

He grinned as she muttered, "I am not hungry."

"Sure you are..." He smiled, leaning the back of food down in front of her face, dangling it there and swinging it back and forth, "It's _yummy _food...breakfast burrito with sausage....eggs...cheese..." He grinned, knowing that cheese was one of her few weakness', "Ooey...gooey..._cheese..._" He bent down towards her, so that his lips were nearly touching her ear, "...melts in your mouth..." She groaned and then snatched the bag away from him, sitting up slightly and grabbing a burrito before chucking the bag back at him.

He caught it like the basketball player he was and then grinned down at her as she sat up against the pillow, realizing, at the moment, that she had managed to roll herself to the other side of the bed.

No wonder the pillow was cold.

She pulled the sleeves up on Tony's sweatshirt and then unwrapped the burrito, taking a bite out of it. Tony smiled as Ziva paused to look up at him, swallowing the food she had in her mouth and patting the bed next to her, "Please sit." She quietly said and he kicked off his shoes and then climbed onto the bed, jiggling Ziva around a little, but not enough to fully move her.

She pulled back part of the comforter and sheet, gesturing for him to crawl under, "It is cold." She commented.

He nodded as he slid under the covers, shaking the burrito as he slid in next to her, "That's why you gotta eat this fast. Nobody likes cold eggs."

"I bet that homos like cold eggs." She smiled, taking a bite and Tony chuckled.

"_Hobos, _Ziva, not _homos." _

She rolled her eyes and wiped her face with a napkin.

"I see you like my sweatshirt." He grinned, and she looked at him before turning away, feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks, "Couldn't resist me, could ya?"

"I was just _cold." _She snapped, "It is freezing in here without the heater."

"Well no duh, Sherlock." He laughed, "Though now you look American."

He gestured to the red sweatshirt, the famous Ohio State Buckeyes logo in the front, the word, unknown to Ziva, 'buckeye' written on the back, gray accenting it down the sides.

"Well it is warm." She nearly spat and Tony put his hands up, knowing that he needed to stop the conversation right now, either that or something would end up somewhere he didn't want it to be.

Sighing, Tony reached into the bag and pulled out two jugs of orange juice, shaking them up and handing one of them to her, after removing the cap. She just looked at him as she took it. He put a finger up and dug in the bag some more before finding what he was looking for, the straw.

Smiling, she took it, unwrapping it and slipping it into the plastic, jug shaped carton of orange juice, "Toda."

They sat in silence as Tony drowned the orange juice, reaching into the bag and pulling out a carton of chocolate milk, setting it in between them as he took another bite of his burrito, "So..." He started, "We got surveillance on Corrado soon." He commented and she looked at him, raising an eyebrow as she took a bite of the breakfast burrito, swallowing it.

"You and me?"

"And Jason." He scoffed and Ziva sighed, "Look, I know that you don't wanna be with him, and I can't blame you, but hey, before, it was you and Jason."

She paused, the burrito just inches from her mouth, pulling it back and looking at him, "Thank you." She gave him a small smile and he nudged her playfully in the arm with his elbow.

"Hey...you're my best friend." He said, "I wanna look out for you."

All she did was smile as she took another bite of the burrito, chewing slowly as she thought. _Just best friend._

_Just friends._

She nearly shuddered at the thought.

She didn't _want _to be only 'best friends'. Could he honestly not see, with that rock head of his, that she felt so completely different about him? Differently than the way he saw her? She swallowed and Tony took another bite of his burrito.

"We need to call Gibbs today." He said, "Cause I've been thinkin'..."

"About a woman?"

Tony paused, his face paling slightly as he snapped his head to look at her. Did she know? Could she possibly know that he had been thinking about her all morning? Well, besides the minute or two he took to think about Corrado and Gibbs and the plane he was supposed to get on to Italy.

He chuckled nervously, "About Corrado. And the case."

She nodded, taking a sip of her juice before setting it back down on the beside table, "Gibbs told us to take the rest of the day off, which I thought was kinda bogus considering that this is Gibbs, this is a dead marine-"

"Former marine." She corrected and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Fine...dead _former _marine and a terrorist. He's like, Gibbs! He's all...obsessed with catching terrorists."

"Much like my father." She muttered, but she didn't think that Tony heard her.

She was almost grateful.

"So anyways, I thought it was odd."

"And what else did you think? What was Gibbs' reasoning to giving us the rest of the day off?"

Tony paused for a moment, "I don't know." He admitted, shrugging, "I thought we should talk to Gibbs, you know, like before Jason gets in there."

She nodded, "When does this shift start?"

Tony glanced at his watch, situated on his left hand before dropping it, "In about thirty minutes." He said, swallowing the wad of food in his mouth rather noisly, "The shift goes until about lunch time, then it's Russel and Jason's turn...then it's Terri and my turn after dinner."

She nodded, "And this changes every day?"

He nodded back, "Yup. But trust me, I won't put you alone with Jason again."

She just smiled, unsure of what to say as she sipped her orange juice, sucking the rest of it out through the straw.

Tony looked at her, studying her face, her flawless olive toned skin, her deep chocolate brown eyes, her small lips that he wanted to capture with his oh so badly...he moved his eyes back to her own, fixating on them.

She was right.

He was entranced by a woman's eyes.

He felt as if he could see right through them, their thoughts, everything.

And right now, he saw sadness, her eyes slightly tinged with a red coloring.

His mind raced back to last night when he woke up once again to the faint sound of crying...sobbing coming from _somewhere. _The redness in her eyes showed that she had been crying...but Ziva...Ziva never cried.

I mean, she was just...Ziva!

But the sobbing he had heard last night had sounded awfully like a woman's, and Terri's voice definitely did not match the description. He carefully lifted a hand up and ran his fingertips on her cheek, tucking back the hair behind her ear, which was in the hood of his sweatshirt. He had to admit she looked great in it, almost better than he did, "Were you crying last night?" He questioned softly and she snapped her head so hard to the right to look at him that the hood fell off of her head.

"W-What?" She managed to say, her heart racing.

"I...heard sobbing last night. I thought it was-" He was cut off by Ziva.

"No." Her answer was short and quick and he sighed.

He knew it was her sobbing.

She knew it that he knew that it was her sobbing.

And he needed to know was why.

He scooted closer to her, their thighs almost touching, "What else did he do to you, Ziva?" he questioned and she shook her head.

"Nothing." She said, simply, taking in a deep breath, "He did nothing."

"Then why were you crying?"

"Why is it any of your business?" She demanded, looking him deep in his green globes.

"Because you're my partner."

She shook her head, "Not a good enough reason."

"Best friend." He said, quickly, and she stared at him.

"Fine." She spat, "I was crying."

"You still didn't answer my question." He paused, almost for dramatic effect, "Why?"

"That is none of your business."

"I made it my business."

"Well get your nose out of it."

He sighed and gave her a small smile, "You _would _get that one right."

She couldn't help but give a small smile back, "I was angry." She admitted, looking down at her lap, "For many reasons. One of them what happened at dinner." She looked back up at him, "Now." She shortly said, "We will change the subject, or you will take your white horse, Prince Charming, and leave."

He grinned, "Fine." he said, throwing his empty foil that once contained a burrito and shoving it into the McDonald's bag. He grabbed his carton of chocolate milk and stared at her, "I have grandparents here." He finally said.

"Are you going to visit them?" She questioned and he shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip of his milk.

"Maybe." He let out an 'ahh' in refreshment as he brought the carton back down from his lips, grinning his famous DiNozzo grin, "I would love for you to meet them." Ziva smiled at him, trying hard to keep the laugh that was threatening to escape inside her mouth, "See where I get my crazy genes from."

"And messy genes?" She laughed and he furrowed his eyebrows together as Ziva grabbed a napkin, carefully dabbing his upper lip with it, "Chocolate mustache?"

He smiled, "It's my best look, dontcha think?"

She rolled her eyes, "Hardly."

Ziva took her empty foil and threw it into the bag along with Tony's mustache, "Thank you for breakfast." She said, handing him the bag, "Now take out the trash."

He grinned and then stood from the bed, the McDonald's bag in his hand, "Thanks." He paused in front of her bed, just grinning at her, for no reason whatsoever.

She couldn't help but smile back as she gestured towards the door, "Go, I must get dressed."

He nodded and crossed the room, opening up the door, "See you in twenty minutes, Zi." He called over his shoulder.

She nodded and he went to leave when she called his name, stopping him, "Tony?"

He turned around and faced her, "Yeah?"

"I am...sorry for the way that I acted last night." She admitted, looking down at her lap for a second and then back up at him, "It was uncalled for, and you were right."

"Of course I was."

"I will see you later, my prince."

"I bid you adieu, fair princess." He smiled, bowing dramatically before exiting the room, leaving Ziva to smile happily to herself.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony decided that he wanted to walk with Ziva to the 'watch' room, as he named it, just in case Jason was already in there. He didn't want Ziva to be alone for a _second_ with that bastard. He knocked on her door with his knuckle, "Zi, you ready?"

A few seconds passed and Ziva opened the door, and for some reason, she looked incredibly sexy. "Yes." She said, walking in front of him. Tony took this time to check out her...lower half. She was wearing jeans that fit her _way_ to perfectly, and his sweatshirt only exceeded her hotness, and Tony was practically licking his lips as he watched her walk down the hall. He scolded himself, "_Stop it, DiNozzo. She is your p-a-r-t-n-e-r._ _Not your girlfriend. You're loosing it!" _

He almost ran into her when she turned the handle, walking in slowly. Tony rolled his eyes when he saw the FBI agent sitting there, three cups in a holder. He stood, holding them, walking over to the pair. "Uh, morning." He said. Ziva only glared at him as she walked around, making herself comfortable in one of the three chairs. Tony half smiled as he followed her, taking the chair next to her. "Am I gonna get the silent treatment all day?"

Tony scoffed, "Probably."

Jason rolled his eyes and walked over to Ziva, holding one of the cups in his hand, "Can I talk to you for a second?" He said. Ziva only looked up at him again, "Please?" Sighing, she quickly stood from her seat, and he led her to the corner of the room, where Ziva knew Tony was still in earshot.

"What?" She snapped.

"I know you are...upset from what happened last night..."

"That is one word that comes to mind." She replied.

"...And I know that I was out of line. I had a few drinks before we went to the restaurant, and I shouldn't have treated you that way."

Tony had to stop himself from walking over and punching the man. _"No, DiNozzo. You're her co-worker. Not her over-protected-jealous-psycho wanna be boyfriend. Cool it." _

Jason turned the cup in his hands, "I'm sorry. I don't act like that. And I want to make it up to you." Ziva looked up at him, his blue eyes begging for forgiveness, "I got you tea."

"Fine." Ziva said plainly, taking the tea from him. She walked around and sat in her chair again. Tony turned to her and mouthed "You okay?"

Ziva smiled and nodded at him before taking a sip of the hot liquid, letting it run slowly down her throat. The three sat in a awkward silence as they watched Corrado sit and read his morning paper, answering several phone calls, one even to his Mom.

Jason let out a hard sigh, "I'm going to the bathroom." He announced, standing from his chair as Tony rolled his eyes at him. Tony then quickly moved over closer to Ziva, and, now he could smell her intoxicating scent, which added with the OSU sweatshirt drove him more insane. He took a deep breath in of _her_, and then spoke softly, "So what did he say to you?"

Ziva was almost asleep, and for once, she was warm, "Hm?"

"What did he say to you, Zi?" Tony asked, this time slower.

Ziva raised and dropped one shoulder, "Just that he was sorry and that he 'didn't act like that'."

Tony scoffed, "Bullshit."

"Tony!" Ziva replied.

"Ziva, I'm telling you. That guy is trouble."

"I know that. I did not say that I was dating him."

"Are you going to?" Tony asked, maybe a little _too_ quickly.

Ziva snapped her head back in his direction and stared him in the eyes, "I do not know."

Tony, now aggravated more than ever, moved back to his original spot and put the headphones around his neck, "He'll never change. He'll promise you the world until he gets you in bed."

Ziva let out a sigh and leaned over closer to him, "I have no intention of dating him, Tony. It was nice that he apologized. Now you need to..." She stopped and thought, "Freeze."

Tony rolled his eyes, "I_ am_ freezing."

"No no no that is not what I mean. Did I make another American idiom mistake?" As he turned to answer her, Jason walked back from the bathroom.

"Yeah, Zi. You are making a mistake." He commented, and Jason looked between the two before turning back to the monitor. Two hours rolled by, very slowly, and Corrado was just coming back from grocery shopping, which Terri and Russell followed him. "You know, besides the whole terrorist thing...this guy lives a boring life." Tony commented. Jason and Ziva both just looked at him, as if he was speaking in a different language. Tony sighed, and was actually annoyed with _both_ of them, "I'm going for food." He said, standing from his chair, and walking, quickly out the door.

"What's with him?" Jason asked.

"He is just...tired. And cold."

"Ah, yeah." Jason said, standing from his chair. "I know the feeling. Are you cold?" He asked.

Ziva shook her head and looked up at him, "No, I am fine. This jacket is warm and I have the tea you brought me. Thanks." He nodded and walked around the room before walking back to the table with the three monitors, staring at the one in front of Ziva. He leaned down closer, as if he was staring at the monitor.

"What's he doing?"

Ziva furrowed her eyebrows and backed up a little, because he was way inside her 'bubble', "He's putting away his groceries." She replied, as if it was obvious.

Jason put his large hands on her shoulders and began to message them slightly, "You sure you're not cold?" Ziva ripped her body away from him and started to stand, when he pinned her down.

"Jason let go of me." She said through her teeth, trying to move from his grip again. He was strong, very strong, and from the position she was in, she couldn't fight him off. "Get off!" She yelled, still struggling under his grip.

"Ziva, if you would just give me a chance to show you what I can do," He leaned down to her, lips lips touching her ear, "How I can make you feel." She tried again to move from his grip, kicking her legs in every direction, but his arms were holding her down tight, "Relax." He whispered, and then proceeded to kiss his way down her neck, moving her straightened hair in the process.

Tony was barely able to turn the handle to the door because of all the snacks he held, and even had three sodas wedged under his chin. "Alright Zi I got you debbie cakes and..." He stopped when he was finally able to look up, and saw Ziva struggling under Jason's grip, "Get off of her!" He yelled, dropping everything he had. He made it over to them in two steps, punching Jason in the face, causing the FBI agent to fall backwards. Tony pulled Ziva up and lifted her chin, so that she was looking into his eyes, "You okay?" He asked, just as he did the night before.

Ziva sighed, "I am fine Tony."

Jason stood, "Who in the hell do you think you are?" He asked, holding his face with one hand. Tony let go of Ziva and took a step towards him.

"I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." He said and then pointed to Ziva, "And that is my partner. Touch her again and I will kill you." He said plainly, "That's twice. There won't be a third."

Jason laughed sarcastically, "You think I'm afraid of you pathetic NCIS agents?" A step closer, "I'll do whatever the hell I want. It's painfully obvious that you want her just as much as I do." A step closer, "There won't be a 'third strike' because I'm about to hit a home run."

Tony heard enough when he used all of his strength to swing at the man again, but Jason ducked to avoid impact. The two men started to fight, when Ziva realized that it'd gone to far.

She grabbed Tony's arm, carefully, so that she wouldn't get in the middle of them, "Tony, stop it." Tony backed up, mostly because Ziva was pulling on his arm, his breathing was rapid, mostly from anger. "Stop." She reiterated.

"Ziva he..." Tony started but then stopped and pointed to the door, looking at Jason, "Get out."

Jason scoffed, "Gladly." The door slammed and Tony sighed. He was _very_ thankful that Gibbs and Fornell gave him the task of 'shift assignments'.

Tony turned to Ziva, grabbing her chin with his hand again, "You sure you're okay?"

Ziva smiled only slightly, "I am fine, Tony. He just...had a grip on me. I could not move."

Tony dropped his hand, "I shouldn't have left you alone with him. I'm sorry."

Ziva sighed and put her hand on his face, "It is not your fault." She wanted to kiss him, not only for looking so damn sexy but also for defending her, but she only dropped her hand and returned to her seat. Tony let out a sigh and sat in the chair next to her, putting the headphones around his neck again listening as Corrado crunched on chips.

Tony looked over at Ziva, and then quickly back at the screen.

One thing was for sure.

She was _not_ going to be left alone with that bastard again.

He really _would_ kill him.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_4 Hours Later…_

"Tony!" Ziva shook her partner's arm, trying to wake him. She groaned, "Tony wake up!" Finally, he opened his eyes and took his feet off of the table.

"What?" He groaned.

"I need you to translate something for me." She said and then typed on one of the computers for a few seconds before heavy Italian could be heard through the speakers. "What is he saying?"

Tony yawned as he listened to the audio, "They're talking about how _delizioso_ last night's chicken Parmesan was." He waved, signaling with his hand that he wasn't interested in it, before he sat up again, "Now he's saying that he has to go meet some guy named Carlos Benvenuto."

"We need to follow him, Tony. This could be part of the cell." She said and stood, before Tony grabbed on her wrist.

"Whoa, whoa, where are you going?"

Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "To…follow Corrado." She said slowly.

"You're not going alone."

Ziva sighed, "Tony I can take care of myself."

"No, Ziva." He said sternly. "I'll go with you."

Ziva rolled her eyes and walked into the hall, when they were met by Russell, Terri and Jason. Tony instinctively took a step closer to Ziva, as if he was her guard dog.

Breaking the awkward silence, Terri spoke first, "Where you going?"

"Corrado is leaving and we want to follow him."

"No, you two stay and watch, we'll follow."

Russell shook his head, "Not liking it. If Terri and I follow him again, he might see us and get suspicious."

"I agree." Jason said, and then turned back to the NCIS agents, "I'll go with Ziva."

Tony laughed sarcastically. "I don't think so."

"Who died and made you the boss?"

"I don't give a damn who did, but you're not going with Ziva."

"Tony…" Ziva warned, grabbing on his hand and squeezing it lightly. She could not figure out why the simple gesture sent thousands of electric jolts through her body.

But it did.

"I have a plan." Russell said proudly, "Agents DiNozzo and David will follow him, and maybe you could be a happy couple that's in love or something?" Tony and Ziva looked at each other and then he continued, "Terri and I will be on the streets. Terri can be like at the paper stand, and I'll be at the coffee shop. That way, we'll have plenty of angles on him."

Jason clapped loudly, "Brilliant plan! Now what am I supposed to do?" Jason asked.

Tony laughed, "Why don't you go practice interrogation techniques on yourself or something?" He waved his hand again. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you shut the hell up and go fu-"

"Scott!" Russell yelled, stopping the agent instantly. "You will be doing your favorite thing, stuffing your face at the hot dog stand."

"He needs to stuff his face with something." Tony mumbled, and Ziva elbowed him lightly in the stomach.

"We do not have a lot of time." Ziva commented.

"Right, lets go then." Terri said, "Russ and I will go out the back, Tony and Ziva, the front, Jason..." She stop and thought, "Do whatever."

Tony and Ziva smiled as they walked down the hall and down the stairs, waiting in the lobby for Corrado to leave the building. When they heard him leave, Tony put his hand on the handle, and Ziva grabbed his arm, pulling on him. "Let him get a little ahead, Tony." She said softly. Tony looked down at her, and they was just as close, (if not closer) as they were in the bathroom the previous night. He could smell her minty toothpaste from her breath and the smell of her shampoo, honeysuckle, he guessed.

He grinned, "Hey Zi." She only looked up at him, "If I bite your arm will I taste honeysuckle?"

Ziva rolled her eyes and opened the door, stepping out into the cold air of Italy. She immediately pulled the sleeves on Tony's jacket down over her hands. He enjoyed the view from behind, but decided since they were supposed to be _married, _that he could look at Ziva's backside anytime he wanted, clothed or not clothed. His mouth practically watered at the thought.

_Not_ clothed.

He brought himself back to reality and jogged a couple of steps to catch up with her. "Ziva act natural." He commented, for she was staring a hole through Corrado, who was about a block ahead of them.

Ziva looked up at him as they walked, "And do what?"

"Kiss me like you mean it." He practically growled. Ziva looked up at him in confusion, "After all, we_ are_ a married couple."

Ziva sighed, if only she_ could_ kiss him like she wanted to, "Agent Johnson said nothing about us being married, Tony."

"He said 'happy couple'."

"A couple can mean a couple of people."

"That's in love." He added.

Ziva rolled her eyes, "I am _not_ kissing you." She commented. _I might not want to stop_. Her brain added.

"You didn't seem to mind when we were undercover."

"I was new at NCIS. I did not know you very well. I have learned my lesson." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He said. The two walked in an awkward silence until they saw Corrado look back, his eyes right on them. Tony quickly wrapped his arm around Ziva's waist and kissed her on the cheek. She looked up at him and he motioned with his eyes in Corrado's direction.

"Why did you do that?" She said through her teeth, a 'fake' smile on her face.

"Corrado was looking." He said simply.

Ziva rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the burning on her face where his lips made contact with her skin. And the fact that his strong arm was around her waist, and it was a ridiculously perfect feeling. Soon, they made it to the paper stand, where Terri was reading a paper, her back turned to Corrado as he passed. Tony and Ziva checked for traffic and crossed the street, his large hand slipping down to hers and their fingers intertwined.

Tony groaned, "Where is this guy going? We've been walking for like...10 miles."

Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "We have not walked even one mile, Tony." She replied.

"You know what I mean. It _feels_ like we've been walking for 10 miles."

Ziva raised and dropped one shoulder, "I do not mind it. The sun is warm."

"Oh, yeah, well that's true. Compared to that...freakin' freezer we've been sleeping in."

Ziva chuckled as they heard in their earwigs_, "Turned down an ally_."

_"Follow, do not approach_." Terri instructed. Jason and Russell slowly followed the man down the ally, where he made an exchange for drugs. Tony and Ziva sat down on a bench, Tony rubbing his feet through his shoe. "Drugs? We walked _all_ this way for _drugs_?"

"We did not know he was buying drugs." Ziva said. Her left hand was now cold, and she only wished his large hand was holding hers again.

_"Heading back to the hotel._" Was now said in their earwigs. Ziva stood, "Come on, Tony."

"Oh no. I'm waiting for a car."

"Tony, lets go." She said, holding her hand down to him.

"But I don't wanna walk." He whined.

"Fine. Sit there." She said, walking quickly away from him.

"You're not walking by yourself either, missy." He said, taking two very large steps to catch up with her.

"I told you, Tony. I can take care of myself. That this morning was just a...mistake."

"I know you can take care of yourself. But with me around, you don't have to." He grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "I'll look after you."

Ziva chuckled and looked down at the sidewalk as they walked.

"I know you will." She mumbled.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was almost warmer outside of the hotel than inside the hotel, but they suffered through it anyways, the rest of the day spent taking shifts on Corrado, trying to research if the man he was supposedly dealing drugs with, Carlos Benvenuto, was _actually _dealing drugs and not just Intel.

The day went by slowly, but ending with Russell going out to pick them up some take-out spaghetti from a local restaurant for dinner.

Each of them ate in their separate rooms, by themselves. This way, there were no conflicts or arguments over who ate with who.

At around 2200h, Tony jumped off his bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants, discarding his sweater for a t-shirt and sweatshirt. He opened the door slowly and looked up and down the hall, his footsteps padded as he started knocking on everyone's doors, Ziva's first, of course.

Terri, Russell, Ziva, and Jason all came out confused, except Jason's look was one more of pure annoyance than anything else, considering that he hoped that the person opening up the door was a woman by the name of Ziva.

"Meeting. Discussion, actually. Now."

"About what?" Terri questioned.

"Corrado." He explained, "Now gather up all the notes and meet..." He paused, "Whose room is the warmest?"

"Well..." Russell spoke up, "Your room gets the most sun during the day, so I would assume that that is the warmest of all of them." He said and Tony shared a look with Ziva, who still looked extremely incredible, even though she had changed out of her perfect jeans and into a pair of black sweatpants, similar to the ones that he was wearing. They hugged her hips yet hung loosely on her form. Tony glanced up at Jason, who was all but licking his lips as he stared hungrily at her, as if she was a piece of meat.

"Great." Tony nearly spat, his gaze still on Jason, "Let's go there." He tugged gently on Ziva's sweatshirt, and she looked at him, "Come on, Zi." He said, quietly as he placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her into his room. The FBI team followed, and Tony kicked some of his clothes away, Ziva sighing as she broke away from Tony's light grip on her and started picking up the clothes, making sure that all the creases were gone before neatly folding them and placing them in one of the drawers on the dresser.

Terri and Jason stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, in front of the dresser as Tony lounged on the bed, a frown placed on his face as he looked at Jason. Russell had gone to get their notes and some more chairs, as Terri crossed the room and took the seat in the corner, slightly near the bed.

Tony patted on the bed as Ziva closed the drawer, "Hey, sweetheart, you can sit with me." He patted the comforter once more and she didn't even think twice; she walked over to him and climbed under the covers, resting dangerously close to Tony. Their feet touched under the blankets and, even through the cold, felt the electricity run through both of them. Ziva sighed and buried herself deeper in the covers, breathing in Tony's scent deeply.

She turned to her side and closed her eyes briefly before opening them up and looking up at her partner, "Your bed is much more comfortable."

"Then you can sleep with me." He grinned, speaking in a teasing tone.

"Mmm..." She smiled, "Maybe." She just closed her eyes and buried herself deeper into the pillow. Tony's eyes met Jason's and he grinned his famous DiNozzo grin as Jason just rolled her eyes and looked the other way.

Russell appeared moments later, and Ziva opened her eyes, sitting up slightly as he set down two chairs, a laptop on his lap and a notepad full of notes.

"So what do we know?" Tony questioned as Ziva sat up fully. She just wanted to get this over with...she was extremely exhausted from the events of the day.

Terri sighed as she reached over and snatched the notebook out of Russell's hands, flipping a couple of pages, "Corrado arrived late..." she glanced up at the two NCIS agents, "You need to figure that out from your boss. Like...why." She emphasized and then sighed as she flipped another page, "Someone else was living in the building that Corrado's inhabiting at the moment before, but we barely have a facial recognition since the security footage quality sucks." She scoffed and Tony smirked as she continued, "We sent it to our forensic scientist, but he hasn't been able to get anything back to us."

"We can send it to ours." Tony volunteered, "She's fast like lighting." He grinned, "Pumped up on caffeine."

"Great." Terri said, even though it seemed sarcastic as she chucked the notebook at Jason before walking back to her seat, plopping down nearly angrily in it.

Tony and Ziva shared a look as Jason flipped through the notebook some more, skimming the pages carefully, trying to look for anything that seemed relevant, "Well the drug thing today was new, there's a start." He finally said, leaning forward from his position in front of the bed, looking dead at Ziva. His eyes were difficult to read, but the deeper she got, the closer she got to Tony. There was _something _about him, something about his eyes that made her entire Mossad senses go on red alert.

And she didn't know why.

Maybe it was just because of his forward actions with her, she honestly didn't know, but she didn't like it.

Something felt off.

And she needed to know why.

Badly.

"Yeah..." Tony said, pondering to himself while he spoke, "So...a terrorist that buys drugs..."

"Many terrorist cells have done that." Ziva commented, breaking her odd stare with Jason and looking up at Tony, "Mainly just small drugs though...like cigarettes, nothing like cocaine."

"Drug dealers normally don't deal cigarettes." Tony pointed out, "Unless Corrado's really an underage teenager looking for a way to get high."

"So he might be working undercover." Russell spoke up.

"The drug dealer?" Terri questioned, furrowing her eyebrows together.

Russell nodded, turning his attention to the woman, "The cigarettes that he got could actually be a message."

"The paper that the tobacco is wrapped in?"

He nodded once more, "Exactly."

"We need the drug dealer." Jason said, and then turned to Russell, "Russ, you go and see if you can hack into the Italian Police's security footage from the streets around 1500h, when we went undercover. See if you can get any sort of angle on our drug dealer."

He opened up his laptop, quickly, "Got it."

"Then send any footage of the mystery man we got to-" he started, but then stopped as he watched Tony and Ziva. Ziva had her eyes closed, obviously fighting to stay awake as she nuzzled her head into Tony's side. DiNozzo looked down at her and smiled before looking back up at Jason, the same stupid grin on his face.

"Uh...Jason?" Russell asked, and Jason broke out of his trance.

"Send it to Fornell and the lab back at..." He took in a breath as he watched them, Tony carefully running his fingers through her soft, brown, straight hair, "...the FBI."

Terri, from where she was sitting, rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair.

Tony looked back up from Ziva and at Russell and Jason, "You can always send it to our forensic specialist, Abby. She's a whiz. I swear-" He laughed quietly, probably for Ziva's sake, "She _never _sleeps." Jason noticed that his voice level dropped a couple of octaves, and Tony felt small fingers wrap around his thigh, a ghost of a smirk dancing on her lips as she rested her head on his side.

Jason tried to keep the growl down as jealous coursed through his veins. _How can this _goddess _possibly fall for this...this...IDIOT! _He stood abruptly, "I think that's all we have for right now." He desperately tried not to spit at Tony.

He just grinned at him, causing his anger to grow, "You wanna take her back to her own room?" He demanded and Terri rolled her eyes as she stood up.

"Jace, let it go." She sighed.

"Don't 'Jace' me," He turned to her, "Terri. Don't you have a night shift with _DiNozzo_?"

She nodded, "That's right. And you will go back to your room for the night shift. And sleep. Alone." She moved closer to him, her voice barely a whisper, "And you won't think about that Israeli chick, okay?"

Before he even had a chance to respond, she brushed past him and out of the room, leaving Russell, Jason, Ziva, and Tony there.

"Again." Jason said, crossing his arms, "Are you gonna take her back to her room?"

He looked down at her and then shook his head, "That would disturb her...which would be rude." He said in a sarcastic 'happy' tone.

Russell looked up and between the two men before quickly closing his laptop and standing up, the chair sliding back and making a crud sound on the ground, "I'm just gonna....go and do this in my room." He hurriedly said before all but bolting out of the room.

"Leave." Tony spat, his voice low and sinister.

He laughed, "Or what? You're gonna hurt me?"

"Don't tempt me."

"I'm so scared!" he mocked him, sarcastically and Tony wanted to slam him into the wall. Too bad Ziva was near his side. He didn't want to wake her. Just the thought of her sleeping in the same bed as him tonight was intoxicating.

And he truly couldn't wait.

"Get. Out." He said through gritted teeth, "I've got work to do, you've got sleeping to do. Alone."

"You're sleeping alone too tonight, why are you talking?"

He looked down at Ziva, "I'm not sleeping alone tonight."

He laughed and then nodded, "Right..." He started towards the door, pausing in the doorway after he opened it up, "Oh..." He called over his shoulder, "...and just so you know....I'm not going to stay away from her, I don't care what you try." Before Tony had a chance to respond, Jason left, closing the door behind him.

Tony narrowed his eyes at the door in front of him, the anger boiling through his veins.

If it wasn't for Ziva being next to him, he would have decked him one right there.

But he was making sure of one thing; he wasn't going to let Jason even _think _about touching Ziva.

He was going to make sure that he stayed away from her.

Even if that meant pulling out his SIG and taking a shot at him.

Four in the chest sounded nice.


	4. Cold Night

Terri Wood looked down at her watch again. She let out a sigh and wrapped her arms around herself. It was cold, dark, and very, very boring.

The night shift.

She checked her watch again and then looked at the door. _Still _no DiNozzo. She rolled her eyes and stood from her chair, checking on Corrado, who was sound asleep, she could tell from the loud snoring that was heard through the headphones. She walked to his room and softly knocked on the door. Tony heard it, but decided to ignore it, since Ziva David was currently sound asleep, her body right next to his.

And she smelled amazing.

And she _looked_ amazing.

He didn't want to move a muscle.

Terri knocked again, and when she heard no answer or no footsteps coming towards the door, she turned the handle and walked in. Tony opened his eyes quickly and put his finger to his mouth. Terri rolled her eyes and whispered, "Will you come on? You have a shift right now!"

Tony groaned, "You can handle it. It's the overnight shift. Nothing's going to happen." Terri rolled her eyes and stood there, her hands on her hips.

"I can't _handle_ sitting there, alone, for 8 hours. I'll fall asleep." She whispered. Tony sighed and knew that if he didn't get up from his nice, warm, comfortable, perfect position, and into the cold, dark, watch room, that he would probably be out of a job. He looked down at his sleeping partner, still trying to decide if it was worth it or not.

"Fine." He said softly and carefully slipped out of bed, watching as Ziva curled up into a ball. He pulled his covers over her and walked out of the room, softly closing the door behind him. He followed Terri back to the watch room, groaning when he realized how actually cold it was.

"Sorry to pull you out of that...whatever you were in." Terri said.

Tony laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, well, I was rather...comfortable."

"I bet you were."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Terri shrugged, "Nothing. You just seemed...cozy with Officer David."

"I was warm."

They both sat down, Tony adding the headphones to his neck. "You sure that's the only reason you didn't want to come to your shift tonight?"

Tony scoffed, "Sitting here in the cold listening to some guy snore all night is not _exactly_ on the top of my to-do list."

Terri smiled, "And spending the night with Officer David?"

Tony snapped his head to her, staring right into her hazel eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"I have a degree in psychology, DiNozzo. I know when someone likes, or in your case, is in love with another person."

Tony laughed, "You might want to have that checked then, Ter. I'm not in love with Ziva. We're just...friends." He stopped, "No, I take that back, we're more of...just partners."

Terri laughed again, "Whatever you say, Agent DiNozzo."

"I am not in love with Ziva. Ziva is not in love with me. We're..." He stopped and sighed, "...partners. Now lets change the subject, please."

The subject didn't change for several _long_ hours in the dark room, in fact, hardly anything was said at all. When the sun was about up and he was tired of the silence, Tony finally spoke, "So what about you?" He asked. Terri only looked at him, confused, since the subject was dropped a _long_ time ago, "Is there anyone...'special' back home?"

"Did you just imply that Ziva was someone 'special' to you?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "No. I asked a question."

Terri laughed, but then her expression was serious, "Well the answer to that question is..." she let out a sigh, "...no." She fumbled with the pen in her hands, "I don't really...do to...well in that area." She admitted. She raised and dropped one shoulder, "Guys just...aren't interested."

Tony laughed, "I know what you mean."

"Yeah okay, Tony." Her tone was very sarcastic as she continued, "You have no trouble attracting women."

"It's not the attraction thing I have a problem with." He said, "It's the commitment thing."

"So you're telling me that if Officer David walked in here walked in here and said that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with you, you wouldn't?"

Tony let out a harsh sigh, "Why do you bring Ziva into this? We're just...talking."

Terri put up her hands in defense, "Ok, ok, I'm sorry." She sighed, "Do you want to settle down?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I think I do. But um...I would...have to find a girl first."

Terri laughed, "That is true."

"What about you, do you want to settle down?"

Terri shook her head, "Honestly, I've never really thought about being a wife and a mother. All I wanted to do was be a FBI agent." She shrugged, "I don't know, I guess things change. I suppose, if I found the right guy, then I would want to settle down. And that will never happen."

"Terri, look. Without being all weird, and from a guys point of view, you're a beautiful woman." He put a tentative hand on her shoulder and squeezed softly, "You'll find him. Just...give it a little time." Terri looked at him and nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Thanks, DiNozzo." She said softly. Their chairs were awkwardly close, and for some reason, they began to move towards each other, but abruptly stopped when the door opened, revealing one Ziva David.

"Officer David." Terri said, looking down at her watch.

"Agent Wood." Ziva replied. Tony looked at his partner nervously. Was he honestly about to kiss Terri? Ziva continued, "DiNozzo, Gibbs called. He would like you to call him when you finish with your shift." She looked at Terri, "Or whatever you were doing."

She turned and left the room, leaving the two to sit in a awkward silence.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After Jason and Russell got to the watch room, as if there was a fire in the room, Tony and Terri couldn't get out of there fast enough. Tony walked down to his own room, rubbing his eyelids. He was surprised when Ziva was standing in his room. "Hey Zi." He said softly.

"I cannot find my hairbrush, have you seen it?" She asked. Tony shook his head.

"No, I haven't I'm sorry." Ziva only stared at him for a couple of seconds before starting out of the room, when Tony grabbed her arm, "You ok?" He asked.

Ziva ripped her arm from his grip, "No. I am not."

Tony shoved his hands in his pockets as anger filled his veins, "Did that bastard touch you again?"

"No, Tony. But it seems that you let Terri touch you."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together, "What?"

"You two seemed very...friendly when I walked in to tell you that Gibbs called."

"Why do you care?"

Ziva narrowed her eyes, "I don't."

"Ok then, what the hell is your problem?" He asked.

"The fact that you think you can tell me who to date and who _not_ to date..."

"I don't think that." Tony butted in.

"...and you have some nerve to go around kissing all these women."

"I have_ nerve?" _

Ziva let out a sigh, "Forget it. You do whatever you wish, Tony."

"Ziva, stop."

"What?!" She yelled. She knew this argument was pointless, for Tony was a grown man, and he could kiss and do 'other' things with whatever woman he wanted to.

"I didn't kiss Terri."

"You wanted to, yes?"

Tony shook his head, "No, I didn't. She's not my type."

Ziva crossed her arms over her chest, "She's _breathing_."

"Yeah, well, so are you." Tony snapped. Ziva turned and started to leave the room, when she heard her name again. "I didn't kiss Terri." He reiterated.

"I do not care if you did or did not, Tony." Ziva snapped.

"Then why are we even fighting?"

"If we were fighting, you would already be dead."

"You know what I mean, Ziva.

"We are not arguing. It does not matter."

Tony shrugged, "So we're good?"

Ziva sighed, "Lemony."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together, "You mean_ peachy_?"

"Whatever it is called."

"Ok, good. I'm gonna call Gibbs, grab a few hours of sleep, and then we'll go have some lunch." Ziva only nodded as she walked out of his room, closing the door behind her.

As she walked into her own room, she sat down on her bed and buried her face in her hands.

She _had_ to snap out of it.

Before she actually let something slip.

* * *

Tony hated wires.

No, he hated technology in general at the moment.

In an attempt to save time and to make sure that Jason didn't screw with his equipment, he had decided to move the laptop to his room, setting it up on the dresser in front of the bed.

Sighing, Tony set up the connection and sent a request through MTAC for Special Agent Gibbs before standing up and exiting the room, knocking on Ziva's door, "Hey, Ziva! I've got Gibbs on the webcam!"

Without waiting, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair before dragging his feet back into the room. He was extremely tired, after not getting any sleep last night for all Terri did was complain about how she couldn't get men.

He scoffed. And she wondered _why. _

Checking himself in the mirror as he sat down, he noticed that he needed to shave. Desperately. Shaking his head he ignored the scruff and sat down on the bed, pulling the laptop carefully down in front of him, laying out on his stomach, propping himself up on his arms.

_"DiNozzo." _Gibbs said, surprising him.

"Hey boss!" He grinned, "How's DC?"

_"Where's David?" _

Almost on cue, Ziva walked in with a water bottle in her hand, sipping it as she narrowed her eyes at him. She looked pissed. Extremely pissed. Even more pissed than before, when they had their little spat in the hallway. Alert, he sat up slightly, using his elbows to support him, "What's wrong?" He questioned, ignoring Gibbs on the MTAC feed.

"Nothing." Ziva responded and Tony just stared at her.

"What did he do, Ziva?" He questioned, his tone low and angry.

"_Nothing," _She emphasized, taking another sip of her water, "Is Gibbs on the feed?" She questioned and her partner nodded, scooting over as he returned to his spot. Sighing, she copied his position.

Gibbs had to take note of the OSU sweatshirt Ziva was wearing and the scruff that was on Tony's face. Ziva looked at Gibbs, "Shalom, Gibbs." She nodded before glancing at Tony, looking back at Gibbs, and then glancing back at him. She furrowed her eyebrows together

"What?"

She didn't say anything as she carefully reached over and touched his face, pulling back. They stared into each others eyes before Ziva abruptly broke it, "Shave." She firmly said, causing Gibbs to smirk as she dropped her hand, turning back to Gibbs.

"We followed Corrado yesterday." She started up after a rather awkward silence passed between the three NCIS agents.

_"And? You find anything interesting David or are you just gonna keep me in suspense?" _

Tony laughed and Ziva narrowed her eyes at him shortly before turning back to Gibbs, "We went undercover, all of us except for Agent Johnson. He stayed back and kept surveillance. Tony and I followed him into an alley where he made a drug deal."

_"A...drug deal?" _Gibbs questioned.

"Yeah, boss," Tony chirped up, "I thought it was a little cookoo as well."

"_Well did you get a picture of the drug dealer?" _

"Yes, Agent Johnson said he was able to. I requested that he send it to Abby for a proper analysis. Apparently the FBI is having trouble in the lab."

Gibbs smirked again, _"Well it is the FBI." _

Tony laughed, "Yeah, it is. By the way, how are this with Fornell?"

Gibbs stared at him for a second or two before looking at Ziva, _"Smack him." _

Taking the opportunity, she whacked him across the face.

Hard.

Even Gibbs was shocked as Tony rubbed his cheek, his mouth slightly agape.

_"What the hell happened to you two?" _Gibbs finally asked and Ziva just looked down at the computer.

"Tony thinks he can tell me who to date and who not to date." She quickly said and Tony gaped at her.

"Excuse me?! No I don't! I just told you that you shouldn't date him cause all he wants is one thing!"

"And you would _know that _because you _are _one of those men, Tony! So what are you saying? That I should not date you, is that it?" He just stared at her, "Then who _should _I date, Tony? Because obviously I should not date Jason, and I am not good enough for you, so who _am _I good enough for, hmm?"

Tony just stared at her, "We'll talk about this later, okay?" He questioned, under his breath, but loud enough for Gibbs to hear him.

Ignoring him, Gibbs continued, "_Corrado didn't fly out of DC until the day after you guys headed out there."_

Tony, letting his eyes move away from Ziva's, looked back at Gibbs, "Well then where'd he go?"

_"McGee's checking it out with Agent Larson." _He explained, "_He-" _

Gibbs paused as Tony interrupted him, "Hold on." He put a hand up, "Back up just a second." Gibbs sighed and raised an eyebrow.  
_  
"What, DiNozzo?" _

"This Larson guy's sitting at my desk? Going through my drawers? Eating the food out of my snack drawer?" He demanded and Gibbs groaned.

_"There are more important things like a terrorist, okay?" _He all' but shouted and Tony quickly shut his mouth, _"Corrado booked a room at the Embassy instead of getting on the flight to Rome. He stayed the night, flew out the next morning. Early." _

"Why would he do that?" Tony questioned.

"Could be that he forgot something." Ziva shrugged.

"What? Like his phony passport?" Tony sarcastically spat and Ziva narrowed her eyes at him. She was about to open her mouth to say something when Gibbs interrupted her.

_"Ziver, we're looking into what he was doing. McGee ran surveillance-" _Tony laughed and Gibbs paused until the laughter died, "_-and he didn't leave the hotel. Not that McGee could see."_

Tony scoffed, "McGee couldn't see a hot woman flirting in front of him!" He exclaimed, "Actually, no hot woman would want to even approach McGoo much less flirt with him. That's a bad example."

Ziva just groaned and took another sip of her water bottle in an attempt not to insult Tony again. Sometimes he disgusted her, _"That's all we've got back at DC." _Gibbs finished, breaking Ziva out of her thoughts as she snapped her head towards the screen once again, watching Gibbs stare at her, _"You two get along, got it?" _

"Yeah, okay, boss." Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair once again.

"Yes, Gibbs." Ziva nodded curtly, once, and once Gibbs was gone from the screen, replaced with rainbow bars, Ziva couldn't have gotten off of the bed faster. With padded feet, she quickly made it to the door, her hand on the handle when Tony stopped her.

"Must not be that bad."

Confused, she paused, wondering whether or not to turn around and demand what the hell he meant or leave the room completely. Furrowing her eyebrows together, she spun around, "What?" She demanded, slightly exasperated.

He had moved to the dresser, setting the open laptop on the dresser in front of the bed before looking at Ziva, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Her eyes scanned over his body. Jeans that fit him just right and his own sweatshirt, a navy blue one with white lettering of their agency on it. _Damn him for looking good. _

"You're wearing my sweatshirt still." He grinned, "Buckeye."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, starting towards the door once again, "Ziva, wait." He called and she couldn't help but stop. She hated how she listened to him.

She only turned slightly towards him, "What?" She demanded, this time extremely exasperated.

"You...I...I'm sorry." He finally said, nodding.

Ziva just stared at him before fully turning and crossing her arms, "For what?"

Tony fumbled with his words. He didn't know what to say. He didn't really understand what was pissing her off so much; all he did was make it look like he was about to kiss Terri, even though he honestly didn't know why he was doing that. But why would _that _set her off? Unless... "You're jealous." He finally said, blatantly obvious about the whole thing. He had just made Ziva David jealous. Of him. Over a girl he wasn't even trying to flirt with, but he couldn't keep a smile on his face for a quarter of a second.

"Just like you were jealous of Richard?"

"No. I wasn't jealous of Richard."

Ziva nodded, once, "Exactly." She turned quickly on her heel and started out of the room, slamming his door behind her.

Groaning, Tony looked at the bed, his head throbbing and his entire body aching. Ziva made absolutely no sense to him; he didn't know _why _she was even mad, but she was. All Tony knew was that he had to somehow make it up to his partner. Maybe food would do the trick.

And, with that, he jumped onto the bed not bothering to take off his shoes, threw the blanket carelessly over him, and fell asleep nearly instantly.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Several hours later, Tony DiNozzo opened his eyes and yawned, stretching in his bed. He looked down at his watch, that was now adjusted for Italy time, and focused on the numbers, 1136h. He smiled.

Lunchtime.

Stretching again, he slowly got up from the bed, suddenly feeling cold once he left the warmth of the cover he had over him. He ran his hand through his hair at the mirror before walking out of his room and into the hallway, where Ziva was seen walking down the hall. He jogged a few steps to catch up with her. "Hey." He said plainly, but when she didn't stop, he lightly grabbed on her arm, "Where you going?" He asked.

Ziva looked down at his hand that was on her arm, and he quickly removed it, "I am going to the snack machine." She replied.

"Nah you don't want that junk," He replied, "Come on, lets go to lunch."

"No thank you."

"Ah, come on, Zi." She only shook her head and walked away from him. "Ziva what's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing." She was _really_ tired of answering that question.

"Obviously _something _is wrong."

She stared into his green eyes. He was wearing his navy blue NCIS hoodie, with jeans that fit him perfectly, and his hair was messy, just the way she liked it. "Nothing is wrong." She said again.

"Great. Then lets go eat."

Ziva sighed and put the dollar in her back pocket before walking the opposite way, towards the elevator. Tony took this opportunity to watch her walk. She never took of his OSU sweatshirt, her jeans fit her ass perfectly, and her hair was down with her natural curls bouncing as she walked. He thought briefly about making a comment, but considering her current mood towards him, he decided that it wouldn't be the _best_ idea.

The restaurant wasn't far away from the hotel, so they walked to it. Once seated, the drinks were ordered and then there was silence. Tony sighed, "So are you gonna tell me what's wrong with you?"

She was going to kill him, "Nothing is wrong with me!"

"Then why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what?" She replied.

"Like you're pissed!"

Ziva pinched the bridge of her nose, "Will you put a shoe in it?" She snapped.

"Sock." He corrected her. She rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you mad because you still think that I kissed Terri."

"So you did kiss her?" She asked.

"No."

"That is what you just said."

"I said that's what _you _think."

"Why do you care what I think?"

"Because you're my partner." He clarified. The food was placed on the table and Ziva grabbed her fork, trying her best to ignore him. Tony sighed and put his hand on top of hers, "Ziva, I didn't kiss her. I didn't _want_ to kiss her."

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked. They stared into each others eyes for several seconds until Ziva cleared her throat, "Okay." She said softly.

Tony reluctantly removed his hand from hers and sat back in his chair, taking a bite of his own food. After several minuets of silence, Tony looked up at her again, "So how is it?"

Ziva twirled another bite of pasta on her fork and nodded her head, "It is very good."

"Good." Tony replied. "Mine is delicious. You wanna try a bite?" He asked, and before she could respond, a fork full of his own pasta was being held in front of her mouth. She chuckled slightly and opened her mouth, and Tony fed the bite to her. She put her hand over her mouth as she chewed.

"That is very good as well." She said, and held her fork to him, "Would you like to try mine?" She asked. He nodded and took her fork, quickly disposing of it's contents.

"De-licious."

Ziva pulled up Tony's sweatshirt and looked down at her watch, "I have a shift with Russell in an hour."

Tony laughed, "Ziva's got a shift with the nerd!"

"You gave him a double shift, you realize this, yes?"

"I know. He can handle it. Besides, we need him to fix the computers in case they...catch fire or something." Ziva chuckled, "And that would be bad. Unless Jason was there."

"Tony..." Ziva replied.

"What? I can't stand the dude."

"I do not care for him either. But he just thinks that any woman will go to him. And when I did not, he reacted."

Tony only stared, "When did you become a psychiatrist?"

Ziva smiled, "I didn't. I can read people very easily." She took a sip of her wine, "_Especially_ men."

Tony took another bite and sat up closer to her, "Oh yeah?" He grinned, "Then what do you _read_ about me?" Ziva stared into his eyes again for several seconds, "Are you looking deep into my soul?" He asked, a smile still plastered on his face.

Ziva smirked, "You seem as if you are wanting something that you cannot have."

Tony lost his smile.

Wow, she was good.

He had to cover it up, "Uhh, yeah." He laughed, "A vacation." Ziva smiled and he continued, "Don't stop there, what else?"

She sighed, "I do not want to do this anymore."

"Oh come on! The first one wasn't good enough. I want something deep."

Ziva sighed, chuckled, and then sat back in her seat. "I can tell that something has been missing from your life for a while now."

"Oh yeah?" Tony chuckled and mimicked her position, "What?"

"Love."

Tony lost his smile again. She really did read him like a book.

Either that or it was_ painfully_ obvious.

Changing the subject quickly, he stood from the table, "Um, we should probably get back. So you won't be late for your shift." She stood slowly and followed him, waiting for him as he paid the bill.

Tony glanced at her only once as they left the restaurant, heading back to the hotel. Ziva decided to break the awkward silence, "Thank you for lunch, Tony."

"You're welcome." Was his quick response.

One thing was for sure.

If Ziva could 'read' him that easily, he definitely needed to change his habits.

* * *

Jason kicked the door to the observation room open, sighing as he saw Russell sitting there, nearly snoring away at the computer.

"Hey!" he barked, setting down the brown grocery bag on the table in front of him, "Brought you some lunch." he pointed a finger towards it as he snatched the binoculars off of the table, staring out the window.

Russell yawned as he looked into the bag, "Pasta again?" He demanded, "Aw hell, Jason..."

"Shut up and eat it."

He turned and looked at him, taking the cap off of the bottle of Coke Jason had bought for him, "What's your problem?" he demanded, taking a sip.

Jason lowered the binoculars and walked towards him, grabbing the paper bag roughly, "None of your business."

He grinned as Jason yanked a plastic container filled with tortellini out of the bag and his own bottle of soda. He plopped down in his seat, "It's that Ziva woman, isn't it?" Russell grinned and Jason rolled his eyes.

"You are one annoying little geek, Russ."

"Thanks." He sarcastically said, rolling his eyes as he poked at the spaghetti noodles.

"The two lovebirds went out to get some lunch." Jason scoffed, "Didn't bother to take _me _with them."

"Probably because you tried to seduce a woman that is _clearly _taken."

"Not true." The two men whipped their heads around to see Terri Wood standing in the doorway, her arms crossed, "They obviously have some sort of 'thing' for each other, but they are _not _together." She uncrossed her arms and she walked towards Russell, where the bag of food was, "You bring me anything?" She asked Jason and he nodded, pointing towards the bag with his plastic fork.

"There should be another thing of pasta in there."

Silently, she pulled it out and walked towards the bed that was in the corner of the room, sitting down on it, reclining as she started twirling the noddles with her fork.

"Oh yeah, you had that shift with that bastard earlier today, didn't you?"

She nodded, "Yes, but he's not a bastard. He's actually rather...nice."

"Aw, Terri, don't tell me you're falling for him!" Jason wined.

"Jace, we're _over." _She slowly said, "We haven't been together for about a year now, so, even if I _was _falling for him, _why _would you care?" She demanded.

"Whatever." He sighed, moving back to his noodles, "I still think he's a bastard. He nearly broke my arm the other day just cause I was trying to show Ziva..._why _she should be with me."

"So they went out for lunch?" Russell questioned and Jason nodded.

"Yup." He nearly spat as he shoved a forkful of noodles into his mouth.

A rather large amount of silence passed between the three FBI agents as they all stuffed their faces with the noodles that Jason had brought.

"Hey, he's moving." Russell suddenly announced as he set down his lunch onto the edge of the desk, pulling the headphones from around his ears up on top of them.

Jason shared a look with Terri and they booth stood up and walked towards Russell, Jason grabbing the binoculars, fixing them on the building Corrado was staying in. He managed to pick him up, looking out the window. He moved away from the window and sat down at his desk, typing on his laptop.

"Hack it." Jason said and Russell moved towards the computer.

"Already doing it."

Terri watched as Russell's hands moved across the keyboard, her hands on her hips. Jason continued his watch, focusing the binoculars closer on him.

Russell paused as the computer beeped, "Uh...we might have a problem."

"Why?" Jason demanded, glancing at him for just a second or two before looking back through the binoculars.

"He's...looking up NCIS."

The three stopped and looked at each other before Terri bolted towards the window. She snatched the binoculars out of Jason's hands and scanned the streets, stopping as she noticed Tony and Ziva smiling and walking down the street together, "It's Tony." She suddenly said, shoving them back to Jason, "Look at what Tony's wearing."

He focused the binoculars onto the street, where Tony and Ziva were and he paused, "NCIS sweatshirt."

"He knows we're following him." Terri finished, quickly, "We must inform him." She flipped open her cell phone and dialed Tony's number.

* * *

"So are you going to visit your...grandparents?" She questioned as they walked slowly down the road to the hotel. Ziva shoved her hands into her jean pockets in an attempt to make them warmer. She really, desperately, wanted Tony's hands to be the ones holding hers, warming them up, but she decided that that was one...fantasy...she would keep to herself.

"Yeah, probably." He said, nodding, looking down slightly at his feet, "I don't really..." He sighed, "Visit them often. I mean, I'm always busy doing something else."

She nodded and laughed slightly, "Do they know that you are a womanizer?"

He turned abruptly on her, stopping her in her path, staring into her eyes. His serious look made the smile she had on wipe off of her face, "I'm not that anymore, Ziva." She just stared at him as he ran a hand through his hair, "I've found someone." He said, his tone low, "I just...don't know if they feel the same way."

She nodded, her heart sinking, "How come I have never heard of her before?"

He stared at her for a second or two longer before starting walking again, this time faster, "Trust me, Zi, you have."

Confused, she furrowed her eyebrows together but followed him anyways, the awkward silence broken by Tony's phone ringing. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID: Terri Wood.

"Yeah?" He questioned into the phone.

_"Corrado knows."_

He stopped in place, his heart rate accelerating slightly. Ziva stopped as well as he continued, "Knows what?" he questioned, slowly.

"_Russell managed to hack into his computer...he was looking up NCIS. He knows you're a cop, Tony. Look at what you're wearing."_

He already knew what he was wearing; he didn't bother looking down, "What about Ziva?" he questioned and Ziva took a step closer to him.

_"I don't know." _She admitted, "_Though he knows that she's with you. He probably thinks she's either working with you or...your girlfriend." _

Tony had to stop himself from grinning at the thought, "What am I supposed to do?"

"_Get back to the hotel. He's calling someone now, we need you to translate." _

"Great." He broke into a light jog, Ziva catching on as she did the same, following him. He shut the phone and Ziva turned to him.

"What was that about?" She questioned and he stared at her.

"Corrado knows I'm a cop." He whispered and she just stared at him.

Nothing was passed between the two as they hurried up into the hotel.

* * *

Tony shoved the door to the observation room open, Russell immediately handing him the headphones, which he slipped onto his head, "What's he saying?" He questioned and Tony listened carefully, furrowing his eyebrows together. Ziva stood in the doorway, her arms crossed as she watched Tony, letting her eyes linger up and down his body.

"He wants to meet with our drug dealer again..." he paused, "And they're...renting...a...yacht?" He questioned, confused.

The four agents looked at each other, "Rent a yacht?" Terri repeated and Tony nodded.

"Yeah.."

"What time?" Russell piped in and Tony put a finger up, meaning silence as he listened again, pressing the muffs of the headphones up tighter against his ears.

"Tonight. For dinner. Around 1900h."

"A meeting?" Ziva questioned and Tony shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't know." He admitted, "But we do know one thing."

Russell nodded, "Yeah."

"We need to rent a yacht." Terri finished.

* * *

Renting the yacht was harder than expected.

They had all voted Tony, Ziva giving him the most reassuring smile she could muster, to go and rent the yacht. Unfortunately, the man wasn't very...friendly, even when Tony spoke fluent Italian to him.

All Ziva could understand was that he said something degrading about Americans.

That and something that made Tony want to jump across the counter and strangle the man after he gestured towards Ziva.

Finally, Tony managed to get the man to rent them a yacht, Terri and Jason noticing the yacht that was getting ready to debark from the dock, "That's Corrado." Terri muttered as they started towards their yacht, Russell managing to crawl up first with the paper bags that contained what they needed for dinner. Jason and Terri were next, followed by Tony. Ziva was last, and she started climbing up the ladder when she felt two warm hands on top of hers.

"Here, Zi, let me." Tony smiled sweetly down at her as she looked up at him, some of her straightened hair in her face.

She moved her hands to his without one complaint, and he pulled her up, Ziva tripping on the last one, falling into Tony, her face rammed up against his chest. Subconsciously, he wrapped his arms around her and helped her stand upright on her own two feet, brushing the hair out of her face, carefully, "You okay?" He questioned and she nodded as she pulled slowly away from him, her eyes never leaving his.

"Hey, come on!" Terri called, "Jason's getting dinner set up. Russell's up working the controls," She motioned for them to come as Tony and Ziva looked at each other, the yacht slowly leaving the dock.

Tony groaned as they walked across the deck, "I just realized something." He commented and Ziva looked at him.

"What is that?"

"This is a boat."

She chuckled, "Very good Tony." They entered the 'dining' area of the yacht, where Jason was pulling out the food from the bags that Russell had brought on board.

"I hate boats."

"Why?" Jason grinned.

"He used to be an agent afloat." Ziva explained, noticing Tony's look. Terri took the moment to walk in, "We were separated for four months."

"Four months." Jason commented, nodding, as if he was thinking to himself. Out loud.

"You know what they say." Terri said, reaching over and pulling out a couple of wine glasses and a bottle of wine from one of the paper bags, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder."

Tony and Ziva just looked uncomfortably at each other and Ziva picked at her fingernails as Tony just stood there. He quickly moved towards Terri and Jason, "Here, let me help."

Once Russell finally found a good place to anchor the yacht, he joined the rest of the two teams down in the dining area where they were finishing setting up dinner.

Dinner was fairly quick since most of them were starving. They had managed to find a Chinese place down the road from the hotel, about a block away, and they had bought several cartons of that.

The two teams all sat around the table now, sipping their third bottle of wine. Everyone hadn't even finished one glass, except for Jason who was now starting on his fifth or sixth.

Tony stared disgustingly at him as he looked around the room at everyone else, who shared nervous glances as Jason finished pouring himself another glass of wine. Tony nearly decked him across the face when he leered at Ziva, but she, rather rudely, snapped at him and told him off, causing Tony's frown to turn into a grin.

He scanned the people in the room as he took another sip of the burgundy liquid in his glass, looking around for Ziva.

Where'd she go?

Excusing himself politely from the group, he ducked out of the dining room and onto the deck, the cold Italian breeze hitting him. It was cold, but it felt rather...good on his skin. Crossing the deck, he paused as he noticed Ziva leaning up against the railing, staring down into the water, her nearly full wine glass in her hand. She took a sip as he stuck one hand into his pocket, the one that wasn't holding the glass of wine, and walked over to meet her, silently.

Without saying a word, he stood next to her, following her gaze. He sighed and she glanced up at him, "Shalom."

"You okay?"

She nodded, "Yes. Just needed to..." She took in a deep breath and looked around, glancing at Tony once again, "...get a little fresh air." She finished.

It was silent for a while, Tony staring down at the wine in his glass, swirling it around before looking back up at her. The breeze was blowing back her straightened hair, revealing her flawless face...she was so damn beautiful, he honestly believed that he wasn't good enough for her.

He wanted to be.

Oh so badly.

He wanted to reach out and caress her cheek with his hand, kiss her neck...her lips...just hug her body tightly to his own.

His body hurt and ached for her, but he knew that now wasn't the time.

Trying to keep his mind off of her, he changed the subject, "So..." He chuckled, "I wonder what Richard and Michelle are doing right now."

She continued to stare out across the water before she too chuckled, "That is an easy question." She glanced at him before looking back out at the water once again, nodding slightly, "Each other. it was love at first sight, Tony." She looked back at him, keeping her eyes fixated on his form for just a second or two longer before looking back out at the water.

He looked back down at his wine, "I...I wonder what it's like."

"What what is like?" She questioned, furrowing her eyebrows together slightly and putting on a confused face that he came to love. Not allowing himself the urge to smile, he leaned forwards, up against the railing as she did, looking at his wine glass.

"Falling in love with someone." He sighed, "That...fast."

Ziva turned and looked at him, waiting until he looked at her, their eyes connecting as she searched them for his emotions. Somehow, she found love. And sadness. Did he truly think of Michelle that way? "I...do not know." She admitted, finding herself unable to tear her eyes off of his own.

He moved just slightly towards her, their shoulders and legs now touching each other, their faces no more than a foot away from the others. One corner of his mouth turned up slightly, "I do." He whispered and she stared at him, her heart thumping in her chest as he carefully, slowly, moved closer to her, his breath hitched in his throat. Ziva took in a deep breath, holding it in as she realized that his face was getting closer and closer to hers.

Her heart rate kicked into overdrive; it was so loud that she swore that Tony could hear it as well.

Her grip tightened on her wine glass as she felt his nose brush up against her own. Involuntarily, she shivered, smelling the wine and Chinese food of his hot breath on her lips. He pulled back slightly, their noses touching once again before starting to go back in when they were suddenly blinded by a pair of headlights.

"Hey!" An unknown voice called and they jumped away from each other as if they were on fire, both of them dropping their wine glasses. They broke on the boat before falling into the water underneath them.

A yacht was now next to theirs, the headlights shining on them as they shielded their eyes, the two men on the other yacht pulling the spotlights away from them. Tony and Ziva looked at each other nervously, Ziva's heartbeat still rather erratic.

"Do you two speak English?" One man said, his accent thick as he leaned up against the railing on his own yacht.

Tony recognized the man as Corrado and he shared a look with Ziva before stepping slightly in front of her, "Yeah..." He started, carefully as he leaned up against the railing of his yacht, "Why?"

"We just need directions back to port."

"The nearest port's in that direction-" He guided, pointing to the right. Corrado smirked at the man next to him, whom Tony recognized as the drug dealer. Perhaps Ziva was right. Perhaps they _were _working together in something more than a drug deal.

"One more thing." Corrado smiled, "Young lady?"

Ziva raised an eyebrow as she stepped towards them, standing next to Tony, "Yes?"

The drug dealer watched Tony's reaction, which was rather pissed off looking, "Would you mind if we got to know each other-"

"Yeah." Tony cut in, spitting, "Yeah, she _would _mind."

Corrado and the drug dealer shared a look as he nodded, "That is all. Thank you."

Tony just stared at him before putting a hand on the small of Ziva's back and leading her back towards the dining room, where the others still were.

One thought ran through Ziva's mind: _I almost kissed Anthony DiNozzo....Anthony DiNozzo almost kissed me! And did he just insinuate that the woman he was in love with was...me? _

Her world was spinning.

On the other yacht, Corrado turned to the other man who started back towards the controls with him.

The drug dealer spoke first, "We know he is definitely a cop." He pointed out and Corrado nodded.

"Yes. We do. But we also know one thing."

"What's that?" He questioned.

"If we ever need something...take the woman. Then he'll talk."

He chuckled darkly, "Love is a horrible emotion."

"These two will find that out the hard way now, won't they?"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony pulled the car into the hotel's parking lot, stepping out into the now very cold air. The temperature dropped drastically in the last hour, and was now below 30.

Terri and Russell got out of the backseat first, and then pulled Jason out, holding his arms over their shoulders as they dragged him into an elevator. Tony scoffed and spoke for the first time since he stupidly almost _kissed_ Ziva, "You'd think a federal agent would know when he's had enough to drink."

Terri nodded, "Yeah, well..." She started, "...He's not much of an agent." Tony let the corners of his lips pull up, but then caught a glance from Ziva, who was standing across from him. He turned away from her quickly. Ziva pulled the sleeves of Tony's sweatshirt over her hands.

Once the elevator got off on their floor, Ziva immediately retreated to her room. Tony helped Russell get Jason into his room, and then he went to his own, _relieved _that he didn't have a shift. He lay down on his bed, not bothering to take off his jeans, button up shirt, and brown jacket. He was disgusted with himself.

He was about to _kiss_ Ziva David.

On the lips.

Passionately.

He started to doze off to sleep when he heard a soft knock on his door. "Yeah?" He said into the pillow.

Russell Johnson opened the door and walked in silently, holding Tony's brown wallet in his hand, "Oh, I'm sorry, DiNozzo, I didn't know you were asleep." Tony sat up, his legs hanging off the edge of the bed, and took it from him. "I uh..found that. You must've dropped it when you were helping us with Jason."

Tony nodded, "Thanks." He replied softly.

Russell nodded and stuffed his hands in his pocket, "What's with you?" He asked.

Tony ran a hand over his face, "Nothing."

Russell chuckled, "You and David seem...awkward around each other." Tony stood from the bed and walked over to him, guiding him out of the door.

"Thanks for bringing my wallet back." Tony said, and then closed the door behind him. Walking back to his bed, Tony only knew one thing.

He was an idiot.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ziva couldn't take it anymore.

It was cold, very cold, and she lay in her bed, with Tony's sweatshirt and _two_ covers over her. She sat up quickly in her bed and stripped the red item of clothing from her body, leaving her in one of her sweaters. Tony's sweatshirt was very warm, but it had one negative trait.

It smelled like _him_.

And his cologne.

She lay back down in her bed and pulled the covers up to her neck, shivering as she tried to sleep. She turned over in her bed, and her eyes fixed on the sweatshirt that she just disposed of.

Sighing deeply, she threw the covers off of her and grabbed it, turning it inside out as she opened her door, walking down the hall to Tony's room. She knocked softly.

Tony groaned and stormed over to the door, for he was really tired of being interrupted.

Not that he was getting any sleep.

"What?" He practically yelled as he flung the door open. His voice softened immediately, "Oh, hey Zi." He mumbled. He moved out of the way so that she could walk in.

Her stomach flipped, "I just wanted...to return your sweatshirt. Thank you for letting me use it." Tony furrowed his eyebrows together as he took it from her slowly. He studied her wardrobe.

"No, Ziva, you need this. It's freezing in here." He held it back to her.

"No, I am fine." She said.

"Is this all that you have?" He pulled a part of her sweater.

She had to think of a lie, "No, I have my NCIS jacket and a few other warm things."

"Oh." Tony replied. He threw the sweatshirt on the dresser and sat down on his bed, "Thanks I guess."

Ziva nodded, "No problem." She started to leave the room when he called her name. "What?" She asked.

Tony stood again and walked over to her, his body only inches from hers, "I um...wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Ziva crossed her arms, "Sorry for what?"

He sighed, this was harder than he thought, "For...um...that...thing."

She was confused, "Thing?"

"Yeah...on the...boat."

Now she understood, "Oh." She looked into his eyes, "It is fine, Tony. We will just...pretend it never happened, yes?"

He chuckled nervously, "Yeah, good idea."

"So goodnight, and I will see you on our shift in the morning."

Tony nodded again, "Okay." She started to leave again when he called her name, "Why don't you sleep in here? It's warmer. I'll sleep on the floor."

Ziva sighed. Tony was right.

It _was_ warmer.

"Very well." She said, walking over to the dresser and slipping on his sweatshirt before crawling into his bed, pulling the covers over herself. A few minutes later, she was almost asleep, when she heard Tony groan as he turned over. "Tony, come up onto the bed." She moved over to the edge so that he would have plenty of room.

Tony chuckled, "No, I'm fine." He lied.

"We are adults, DiNozzo, we can share the same bed."

He sighed and got onto the bed and under the covers, pulling them up to his chin. To be more comfortable, he changed into his NCIS sweatshirt. It became very quiet until Tony heard Ziva's teeth chattering. "Ziva?" He questioned.

"Yes Tony?" She asked.

"Are you still that cold?"

"I am fine." She replied.

Trying to fall asleep again, the noise echoed in his ears, and he made a decision. "Come here." He said, pulling her body close to his own. She turned into his chest and he rubbed her arms quickly in effort to warm her up.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Trying to warm you up, Zi."

If it was possible, he pulled her closer, "Thank you, Tony." She mumbled. She looked up at him, and through the darkness he looked down at her. She could feel his hot breath on her lips, "Why are you doing this?"

"You're my partner." He returned. Not able to take it anymore, he closed the small gap that existed between their lips. It was short and sweet, but Ziva failed to understand why a ripple of passion ran through her body. "Ziva I'm..." Tony started, but she cut him off with her lips, this time the kiss was passionate. Tony threw his leg over her and got on all fours, so that his body was hovering over hers. He broke the kiss from her lips and began to trail kisses down her neck.

Ziva slipped her hands under Tony's NCIS sweatshirt, pulling it off of his body quickly, leaving him in his t-shirt and sweat pants. She moaned, because he was doing amazing things to her.

Soon after, Tony's body collapsed on top of hers, both of them breathing hard as a thin layer of sweat covered their bodies. He rolled off of her, but then pulled her body close to his. He smiled and pressed a kiss against her forehead, "You warm now, sweetcheeks?"

Ziva chuckled, "Extremely."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Back at NCIS, Special Agent Timothy McGee and Forensic Specialist Abigail Sciuto stared at her computer monitor in shock.

"Did you see..."

"Yeah." McGee interrupted.

"They actually..."

"Yep."

"And they..."

"Yep."

Abby grinned and then jumped up and down in excitement, "McGee! They did it! They had sex!"

McGee furrowed her eyebrows together, "Abby that's not a good thing."

Abby lost her smile and stared at the monitor again, that was now black and completely silent.

Abby sighed, McGee was _right_.

"Yeah McGee," She started, "Gibbs is going to kill them."


	5. Fight Night

**Okay, so just to clear a couple of things up for you guys...**

**One...sorry for the late update, we've had lots of stuff to do!**

**Two...I know that some people were confused about the whole 'Corrado finding out that Tony's a cop'. Well...we've got an answer for you. When Tony was following Corrado with Ziva, he was wearing just a plain old sweater with nothing on it. Now when Corrado found out that he was a cop was when Tony wore his NCIS sweatshirt to go out to lunch with Ziva, meaning that he wasn't 'on duty' at the time that Corrado found out. Corrado also didn't 'bust' Tony for being a cop because one...he was outnumbered. By a lot. And two...he was on water. He didn't have that far away to run. Or to get lost in a crowd or whatever. And there really wasn't much point for busting him, because that would mean admitting to what he was doing.**

**ANYWAYS!**

**We just thought that we'd clear that up for some people, so...please read and enjoy! And review, of course!  
**Tony opened his eyes the next morning, and pulled the naked form closer to his own, "Good morning." He mumbled. Ziva turned over so that she was pressed against his chest.

"Shalom." Was her reply. It became silent for several minutes, and Tony took this time to take in her wonderful _smell_. Her skin smelled of lavender and her hair smelled of coconut.

And it was perfect.

He dragged his hand up her arm, his fingertips tickling her skin as he did so, "Last night was..."

Ziva chuckled, "Yes it was." She agreed. She looked up at him, and he looked down, "So you have no regrets?"

He shook his head, "No way, Zi." She smiled and he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, the kiss turning passionate quickly. He reluctantly broke the kiss, "We have a shift soon." He commented. He let his hand run down her body and onto her side, "But we should probably get dressed before we go."

Ziva chuckled, "You think anyone would notice?"

Tony laughed, kissing her on the forehead before slipping out of the bed, pulling a fresh pair of boxers on, "Well, Zi, they might not notice me, but they'll sure as hell notice you."

Ziva chuckled before she, too, got out of bed, putting on the same clothes she had on before Tony ripped them off of her. She smiled contently.

She _really_ didn't mind it.

"I am going to shower." She announced, stepping into the hallway. Tony quickly followed her, walking into her much colder room with her.

"Want some company?" He asked, biting his bottom lip as he did so. Ziva couldn't help but grin, only because he was so damn cute. He practically ran out the room, and Ziva followed into the 'shower room'. Tony was about to place a kiss on her lips and have his way with her, _again_, when the door flew open and a very, very hungover Jason slugged into the room. Tony let go of Ziva and put his hands on his hips, "Morning sunshine!" He said loudly.

"Go to hell, DiNozzo." Jason returned as he walked into one of the stalls, throwing his clothes over as he turned on the water.

Tony turned to Ziva and was about to kiss her again when she pushed him away, both hands on his chest, "Tony, no."

He frowned, "Why?"

"Jason's over there." She whispered.

Tony stared at her as if she was supposed to say something else, "...and your point?"

"He will hear us."

Tony chuckled sarcastically, "I don't give a damn." He leaned in to kiss her again and managed to kiss her lightly before she pushed him away. He groaned, frustrated, "Ziva why do you care what _he_ thinks?"

"I don't, Tony. But if he hears us he will cause problems."

Tony groaned, for he knew in the back of his mind that she was right. If he...had his way with her, and she screamed like she did the previous night, Jason would use it to his advantage and make sexual comments.

And then, Tony would have no choice but to pull out his SIG and shoot the man.

Repeatedly.

And that would be bad.

He sighed deeply and settled on a simple kiss on her lips before getting into his own shower.

_Without _Ziva.

They finished their showers quickly and..._separately, _before walking to the watch room, where the two FBI agents sat. "Morning." They said, almost in unison. Terri picked up a white paper bag and moved it towards Tony, "Breakfast."

Tony picked it up and opened it, looking inside before picking up the breakfast burrito. "Thanks." He said, handing that one to Ziva and retrieving the other out of the bag. Terri turned around in the chair, so that she was facing Tony and Ziva, who were sitting on the bed, eating their breakfast in silence.

"You two okay?" She asked. Tony and Ziva looked at each other and then back at her.

"We're fine." Tony replied.

"That's good." She said, "Heard you two were acting weird around each other."

Tony was about to respond when the door flew open, as Agent Jason Scott walked into the room, sighing as he flopped down in one of the chairs. Terri turned to him, "How you feeling, Jace?" She asked and he glared at her. She chuckled, "Didn't get any sleep?"

"Well I _would've_ but there was a lot of noise last night." Tony and Ziva looked at each other nervously, for they really didn't lose what they started because the FBI team wanted to start trouble.

Russell laughed, "Yeah, we heard them too."

"Yeah, well, Russ, I'm sure that's the first time you've heard something like that." Russell rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the monitor as Jason continued, "Those two people must've been on a honeymoon or something. Though I don't know why anyone would choose _this_ piece of paradise for their honeymoon spot."

"I'm sure it would be a hell of a lot better if it was actually _warm_ in here." Terri said, "I was _freezing_ last night."

From his position on the bed, Tony laughed, "Really? I was really...warm, actually." Ziva cut her eyes to her partner and took another bite out of her burrito.

"Well, yeah, Dipzo, that's because you've got the warmest room." Jason commented.

Tony laughed and took a bite, and then spoke with his mouth full of food, "Yeah." He said, looking at Ziva, "Something like that."

Jason stood up from the chair he was slouched in, walking over to the white paper bag, looking inside it, "You _had_ to get burritos?"

Terri laughed sarcastically, "You don't have to eat them!"

Groaning, he took one of them out of the bag and walked back over to the chair, flopping in it again, "I wish I knew who those two 'screamers' were. I'd like to give them a piece of my mind."

Terri rolled her eyes, "Well you really have no way of finding out." Terri said, walking past him and to the restroom patting him on the shoulder as she passed him, "Get over it."

"Get over it." He mocked. The room became silent until Jason started to laugh, loudly, "I got it!" Tony, Ziva, and Russell stared at him, confused, "We can get geek here to hack into the hotel and find out what room those two idiots are in."

"We?" Tony said, glancing at Ziva as he walked over to Jason, "I don't think so. I want no part and this. Leave the happy couple alone."

"They expect to have sex...loud sex...and disrupt _my_ sleep all night and get away with it? I don't think so." Jason said.

Standing up, Ziva walked over, standing behind Tony with her arms across her chest, "I agree with Tony." She commented.

Jason scoffed, "Of course you do. Hey DiNozzo, why don't you bend over a little further so Ziva can kiss your ass a little easier?" Ziva quickly put her hands on Tony's shoulders, pressing down on them so he couldn't stand up.

"Let it go, Tony." She said softly.

Jason moved over to Russell, "Do it." He said.

"What if I don't want to?" Russell replied.

"I don't care, do it." Jason said. Russell rolled his eyes and typed rapidly on his keyboard, several screens popping up at once.

"McGee could've done that faster." Tony mumbled, causing Ziva to laugh.

Terri walked out of the bathroom, "What are you doing?"

"Finding out who kept me up last night."

"I already know who kept you up, Jason." Terri said, walking over and collecting her personal bag, "First name Al last name Cohol." She walked to the door, "DiNozzo, David, have fun on your shift." She said, and then closed the door behind her.

"Sorry Jason, the only people booked in the hotel are us."

"I know what I heard, Russell."

"Well whoever it was must've broke in or...it could've been employees."

"What the hell ever, Nerd." Jason got up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Russell sighed and stood from the computer, "Have a nice day." He said, and then he too left the room. Tony turned around in his chair and pulled Ziva down into his lap, placing a kiss on her lips.

"That was close." He said, continuing his kisses down her neck. Ziva laughed and kissed him before standing on her feet again, moving over to her own chair. "So what is our little buddy Corrado up to today?" Ziva wrapped her arms around herself, pulling Tony's sweatshirt sleeves over her hands again, "You cold, sweetcheeks?"

She smiled at him, "Yes, I am."

He reached over and pulled her rolling chair closer to his, "I know a way we can warm up."

"I know a way as well, Tony." She stood from her chair, a smile on her face, "I will go and get my sweater."

Tony chuckled sarcastically as the door opened and closed.

That _definitely_ wasn't what he had in mind.

Sighing, he stood up, running a hand through his hair as he crossed the floor, grabbing the NCIS laptop off of the dresser, deciding that, since Corrado was still asleep, he'd go on ahead and 'check in' to headquarters back in DC.

Opening it up and smacking a couple of buttons, the screen appeared and Tony watched as McGee's face appeared on the screen, solely him in the lab, "McGoo!" Tony grinned, greeting him with a cheery attitude.

_"Well Tony, I hate to say this, but it's actually nice to see this part of you." _He smiled and Tony eyed him, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" He demanded.

McGee paused a moment before realizing that this wasn't exactly the best time or place to start this, "_Nothing." _He finally decided, _"So how's Rome? You and Ziva getting along?" _He teased, even though he knew the answer to that question.

Oh how he knew.

It was like they were a car crash, last night, and he _couldn't _tear his eyes away from them.

It disgusted him...almost.

No, on second thought? It really disgusted him.

Deciding not to think about that, he tried to change the subject when Tony opened his mouth to speak again, "Oh no, McTrickery, don't try to change the subject! What are you talking about, seeing this part of me? I haven't changed! Well, maybe got a little hotter, but...what can I say? This hotel is icy cold and...well...I'm hot like lava, McVolcano."

_"The hotel is 'icy cold'?" _McGee questioned and Tony nodded.

"Yup. The heater went out a couple of days ago." He looked towards the door and then leaned forwards, "Even Ziva wanted to borrow my sweatshirt." He wiggled his eyebrows and McGee rolled his eyes.

_"Yeah, that wasn't the only thing she 'borrowed'." _

Tony eyed him, carefully, with one eye, his heart rate accelerating slightly. Did he know? About their...session last night? But how could he...? "What are you talking about?" He demanded, "This is the last time I'm asking. Next time I'll jump through this laptop-" he pointed towards it, "-and strangle you for the answer."

Tim stared at him for a while before looking around and leaning towards the webcam, nearly whispering, "_I saw yours and Ziva's...session...last night." _

"You were peeping?!" He nearly shouted, in shock, "It's not a peeping Tom anymore! It's peeping 'Tim'!"

McGee rolled his eyes, "_Look, Tony..." _He groaned, "_It wasn't exactly what I wanted to see when I went to talk to you last night. Well...I only saw stuff when you guys got closer to the edge of the bed." _He grinned, "_Damn..." _He whistled, "_Ziva's got a nice body..." _

Tony slammed his fist down on the table, "Probie!" He scolded, nearly shouting as Tim quickly shut his mouth.

_"Right, boss. I mean, Tony...right, Tony..." _He sighed, "_Look, how are you two gonna get it past Gibbs? Aren't you breaking rule twelve or something?" _

Tony struggled with his words. If he admitted that they _were _breaking rule twelve...to Timothy McGee of all people...they would be _dead. _Telling Tim a secret is like Brad Pitt telling the press that he and Jennifer Aniston secretly had a love child and were married, and not expecting it to leak out.

Basically, it was a bad idea.

Period.

He had to think of a lie, and fast. He didn't know when Ziva was going to be back from getting her sweater. He glanced down at his watch. She _had _been gone a long time...

"No." He finally said, "We're not breaking rule twelve, probie."

McGee furrowed his eyebrows together and stared at him, "_What?" _He questioned, "_But...you two...had sex!" _He blurted out.

"Yeah, but it meant _nothing, _McGoo." Tony leaned back and grinned, holding his hands wide, "Come on...I'm Tony DiNozzo! Commitment just doesn't fit into my schedule. Besides, that was just playful fun. Ziva and I only did it cause we wanted to be warmer. I told you the heater broke, right? She cuddled with me on bed in an attempt to conserve body heat and next thing you know, one thing led to another, we started kissing...clothes started coming off...and I'm pretty sure you know the rest." He paused, crossing his arms, "Stop watching my sexcapades, Peeping Tim." He almost spat at him.

_"So let me get this straight...you had sex with Ziva just to have body warmth and nothing else?"_

Tony nodded and changed to a western accent, "That's about right, partner!"

McGee, from behind him, heard the door open and close and he looked back at him, "_I gotta go..." _He sighed, "_You...uh...yeah...bye." _and the camera feed went dead. He closed the laptop and set it down on the dresser, running a hand through his hair.

He felt horrible.

He hadn't meant any of that, he just wanted to save both his and Ziva's asses from Gibbs.

Well...at least Ziva didn't hear any of that...

Outside of the door, Ziva could literally feel the blood boiling in her veins, and she felt the urge to kick something.

Or hurt _someone. _

She had just slept with Tony DiNozzo, and she honestly thought that he shared the same feelings with her and that she just wasn't another one of those 'meaningless sex' things he had with other meaningless women.

Shaking her head she leaned her head back against the wall, hot angry tears threatening to fall out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

One thought ran through her mind: how could she be so stupid?

* * *

FBI Agent Jason Scott groaned, his headache from his hangover dying down.

He had taken more advil than he could count, which he didn't necessarily think was the best for him, but he did anyways.

Terri and Russell had been in and out of their room all morning trying to find a good hangover drink. Tony had actually offered his own hangover recipe, but Jason was sure that the little nut was going to put something crazy in it that might make his headache worse or ultimately kill him.

Finally, Terri and Russell had gotten annoyed with the persistence of Jason and his stupid drink, so they both left him alone with the disgusting smells and concoctions in his room as well as with all of the ingredients.

He flopped down on his bed and put his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling, groaning. He was _so _tired.

He checked his watch.

He had the next shift with Terri since Russell was supposed to have a double shift yesterday if they hadn't gotten on that yacht. His shift was in about three hours, which wasn't enough time to sleep and make up for the amount of hours he had laid there listening to those _stupid _honeymoon people going at it.

He tried to make it better and imagine Ziva doing that to him, but that didn't work.

And what was even more disturbing was that Russell thought that it was 'kinda hot'.

That was when Jason kicked him out of his room.

Literally.

He shook his head and stared at the ceiling some more, shaking his head almost too many times to count. He almost made his headache worse.

_Almost. _

Jason really didn't think it could _get _much worse.

He rubbed his eyes with his fist before it was determined.

He _had _to figure out who this joker was.

And now.

He decided to head down to the lobby, since Russell already said that the only people that were actually willing to room in this crap hole were both of their teams, ready to chew out the manager.

If it was two of his employees going at it...

He walked down the stairs, since the elevator was broken, Jason wasn't really shocked, and all but slammed his fist down on the counter, causing the man there to jump up in shock, "Oh mio dio!" He gasped.

"You speak English?" he demanded and he nodded feverishly.

"Si!"

"Great." He gave him a sarcastic smile, "Then you can tell me why the hell your two employees kept us up all night?"

He furrowed his eyebrows together and stared at him, "Excuse me?"

He laughed, "What part don't you understand?" He questioned, "Which. Two. Employees. Had. Sex. Upstairs."

It was the man's turn to laugh, "I think you are mistaken...the only two employees that had the uh...night shift? Last night were two...men."

Jason frowned. He _definitely _heard a woman and a man, "Do they have girlfriends?"

He shook his head, "No. They keep to themselves."

Jason growled as he ran a hand through his hair, turning and resting only one arm on the counter.

If neither of the two employees last night caused all that noise, and his team and Tony and Ziva were the only people booked in the hotel, and he knew that he wasn't the cause of the noise, obviously, and that Terri and Russell would _not _hook up (especially because he knew what Terri sounded like in bed, and she wasn't a screamer) that left...

The two that wanted them to leave the happy couple alone.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony didn't know _what_ her problem was.

He wondered briefly if she couldn't find the sweater she wanted, and _that_ caused her sour mood. But not finding a sweater that she wanted and pouting about it wasn't like Ziva.

But ever since she came back from looking for the sweater, she'd been giving him one worded answers, and would barley even look his way. He then left her alone for a while. He looked down at his watch, and now, it was time to try again.

"So, Ziva, you wanna grab a bite to eat after our shift?"

"No thank you." She said quickly.

He nodded, "O-kay." Well, it was sort of an improvement. She said _three _words, "Okay...maybe a movie? I don't know where we're going to find a DVD player in this crap hole but we can certainly try."

He waited.

No response.

She didn't even _look_ at him. She just sat there, in her chair, reading her book, occasionally looking at the screen that contained Corrado, who coincidentally was also reading a book. He studied her wardrobe, and she now had on a long sleeved shirt that was as thin as toilet paper and he _knew_ she was freezing.

He gulped, hoping that his next question wouldn't cause her to pull a gun on him, "Hey is uh...something bothering you?"

"I am fine." She snapped. She turned the page in her book. Tony continued to stare.

"You sure? You seem like somethings...bo-"

She rolled her eyes and slammed her book closed, turning in her chair to stare at him, "I am fine!" She practically yelled. Tony sighed, stood from his chair and began to walk towards her.

"Look babe, you really are acting-"

She too stood up, causing him to stop in his tracks. She looked dead into his eyes, "Do not 'babe' me." She said through her teeth, "I am not your 'babe'."

He furrowed his eyebrows together, "Geez, sorry, I'll call you...sweetcheeks. You like that name." He wrapped his arms around her waist and she quickly walked from his grip.

"Do not call me anything but Ziva or Officer David. And do _not _touch me."

"Alright, what the hell is wrong with you?" Tony asked, his voice rising as he spoke.

Across the hall, Jason turned over in his bed as he heard voices through his door.

And then the yelling continued. "That's it." He said to himself, storming out of his bed, as his body still ached for sleep. He started to storm into the 'watch' room, after deciding _that's _where the noise was coming from. But then he stopped.

It was Special Agent Tony DiNozzo and Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David.

They were _arguing_.

_Loudly_.

And he loved it.

"Is that what kind of person you think I am, Tony?" She said.

He was confused, "What?"

"The kind of person that _you_ are."

"Ziva I don't know what you're talking about!" He yelled, frustrated.

"Do not worry, Tony. I understand that last night was only a mistake."

He sighed, closing his eyes, and then rubbing them with his finger and thumb, "Ziva, you got this all wrong..."

"I heard you, Tony." She interrupted.

"No, listen..."

"There is no _need _for me to listen. I heard everything you had to say."

"Ziva will you stop?! I'm trying to tell you..."

"I heard you, DiNozzo!" She repeated, but then she spoke through her teeth, "I am not one of your pimphoes that you can sleep with when you 'want some'."

"_Pimphoes? _I think you mean _bimbo's, _but I do not think of you that way!" Tony sighed and walked closer to her, lowering his voice this time as he spoke, "I only said that..."

"It does not matter, Tony. When we return to DC I will request to be transferred to another team." She only stared into his green eyes for a few seconds more before walking around him and back to her chair, back to her book. A tear rolled down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away.

Her mind raced.

How could something mean so much to her, but mean _nothing_ to him?

She truly didn't know.

Outside of the door, Jason smiled and then walked into his own room. He lay down on his bed, a smile stretched across his face as he closed his eyes, trying to sleep.

Now, Tony and Ziva were right where he needed them to be.

And he didn't have to do a _thing_.

* * *

A few minutes of silence passed and Tony _had_ to try again. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, walking over to her again, "Ziva..." She glared at him and quickly stood, leaving her book on the table as she started to leave the room, Tony stood with his arms wide, confused, "Where in the hell are you going? I'm trying to talk to you, Ziva!" As the door closed, he groaned and sat down in one of the chairs, burying his head in his hands.

Ziva stood outside the door for several seconds before letting out a small sigh, heading to the vending machines. She wrapped her arms around herself, hoping that it would somehow help her to become warmer. She truly missed Tony's OSU sweatshirt, but she wasn't about to put that back on.

Ever.

She bought a pack of Skittles and sat down at the table, turning it in her hands. She sighed and supported her head with one of her arms, continuing to turn the pack with the other hand. All she could think about were Tony's words.

It meant _nothing_.

She fought the tears that flooded her eyes and threw the red package against the wall, Skittles flying in every direction.

It meant _something_ to her.

She put both of her arms on the table and buried her head in them. She stayed in that position until she heard someone walk in. She looked up and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. Much to her relief, it _wasn't_ Tony.

Jason.

He looked around the room for a few seconds before walking over to the coffee machine, pouring himself a cup, "So, did you uh, get tired of tasting the rainbow?" He asked, a small smile on his face. She shook her head and he continued, "Well at least you gave the room a little color." She let the corners of her mouth tug upwards just slightly. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "I am fine, thank you Jason."

"Alright. Talk to you later." He said, and with that, he left the room. She returned to her previous position and thoughts, her mind racing as she sat in the dark, cold room.

She tapped the table repeatedly with her fingernail, the noise vibrating through the room.

How could Tony be so...

There wasn't even a word to describe how she was feeling at the moment.

She was feeling hurt, betrayed, like she had just been run over by Gibbs late for his morning coffee.

But the really question was...how could Tony do this to her? She had honestly thought that he had changed from the womanizer he was when she first met him. She knew that Jeanne had changed him, but why did he revert back to his old ways with women?

Was this honestly what he was planning on doing with her?

All the time that they had known each other?

She slammed her fist down on the table. Never before had she felt so angry and betrayed.

But she knew one thing: Tony DiNozzo was going to have to pay for his actions.

But...how?

She ran a hand through her hair, staring down at the brown table underneath her, trying to rack her mind for _some_ way to destroy Tony. Something that would make him fall on his face and explode into a million pieces. Something that would make Tony's blood boil and feel the hurt and betrayal that she had...was...feeling.

But what?

For one, they were in Italy, not DC, so she couldn't just hook up with any of her friends or the other male phone numbers she had stored in her 'missed calls' log from when she had had just a little too much to drink at a bar and exchanged phone numbers.

There wasn't any other guys here that she knew besides Russell and Jason, and Russell surely wouldn't piss Tony off, and Jason woul-

She stopped thinking abruptly, slowly lifting her head up so that she was sitting up straight, the gears in her mind turning as she started thinking.

Jason...Tony _hated _Jason. How many times a day did she go through listening to 'What did that bastard do to you, Ziva?' and how many times did he call him 'ass hole' or 'bastard' or any other nickname? They never even have said one nice word to each other their entire stay.

And Jason was surely interested in her, I mean it was _obvious _to her that he wanted her in bed with him.

So if she made her 'feelings' for Jason clear as well...

She let the largest smile she'd had on her face all day grow.

Her evil plan was set.

Standing quickly from the table, she walked up the stairs and into her room, looking into the broken mirror. She made sure that her eyes weren't red and fixed her hair so that it was decent. She normally didn't do that for anybody but Tony, when she was trying to get him to notice her.

But none of that mattered anymore.

She walked from her room and over to Jason's, which is one thing she honestly thought she'd ever be doing. She knocked softly and heard his muffled voice through the door, "_Yeah?_" Sighing, she turned the handle and slowly walked in. "Hey, what's up?" He asked and then smiled, "I never thought I'd see you in my room." Ziva only smiled and he moved over on the bed, "Here, have a seat." She moved slowly towards him and sat down. "So is there uh...a reason for your visit? Not that I mind."

She couldn't help but smile, "Yes, actually." She swallowed, "I would like to...apologize for the way I have been acting towards you."

Jason smiled, "Ah, it's okay." He threw his arm around her shoulders, "So what's on your mind?"

"Nothing." She replied and he looked at her, "I just...thought somebody was different. And I was wrong."

"DiNozzo?" He said and Ziva sighed, nodding slightly, "What did that bastard do to you?" Ziva couldn't help but snap her eyes up to his.

It was the _same_ question.

But it wasn't from Tony.

* * *

Back in the watch room, Tony looked at the door again, confused. Where in the _hell_ did she go? And _why_ was it taking so long? He had to fix things with her, for the previous night meant everything to him. He didn't want anything to change. Sighing, he stood from the chair and walked over to the door, looking both ways in the hall. He then saw Jason's door open, and heard slight voices coming from it. He leaned back into the watch room and looked at the monitor, and Corrado was still eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He slipped into the hall, walking silently over to Jason's door and standing next to it, listening to the two people talk.

One of the voice was Jason's, and he _should_ be there, because well, it was his room.

But the other voice is the one that made Tony's blood boil.

_Ziva._

He wanted to bust in there and give them both a piece of his mind. But then she started talking again.

Her stomach flipped, "He made me believe that he cared for me in a certain way." She looked at him, "And it was not true. He is the man I thought he was."

Jason shook his head in disbelief, "I'm sorry, Ziva." He looked down at her lap, where her hands were nervously wringing together. He reached over and took one of them, holding it in her lap, "I would never do something like that to any woman. Especially one as gorgeous as you." Ziva smiled at him and had to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. His face was coming toward hers, slowly but surely, "Forget about him." He said softly.

Outside of the room, Tony's fist clenched into a tighter ball.

"I have to see what it's like." Jason said, his lips only inches from hers when the door flew open.

His eyes could kill somebody, and they were aimed right at Jason, "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" He said through his teeth.

Jason stood up quickly and was inches from him, "Get out of my room." He spat.

Ziva knew she had to separate them or it would be a bloodbath...literally. "DiNozzo, lets go." She said, pulling on his shirt to get him out of the room. She pushed him into the watch room and he walked away from her.

"What in the hell was that, Ziva?" She only stared at him, crossing her arms under her chest, "I can't believe you would stoop so low, Ziva." He shook his head, "I never expected something like that from _you_." Ziva scoffed, uncrossed her arms and walked up to him, and she could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Get used to it."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Back in DC, Abby typed on her computer rapidly and stopped when she heard her two of her favorite men walk in the room, Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs holding a Caf-Pow in one hand. "Ok, so this whole two cases at once thing is _not_ working for me."

Gibbs and McGee both laughed, "Whatcha got Abs?"

"Ok, Delvin Williams' last meal was definitely a Big-Mac and some fries."

"Anything on the cell?"

"No, still working on it. 3 years underwater isn't helping much."

"Ok, whatcha got on Corrado?"

"Not much more than I already had, but I did find ties with a Japanese man named Bunko Hikari. He was a bad boy as well and is currently in a Japanese prison for his crimes."

McGee raised an eyebrow, "Bad boy you mean....terrorist?" Gibbs looked at the junior agent and placed a hard slap on the back of his head.

"Do you think, McGee? Abby I need everything on Mr. Hikari. Could be another connection. And I also need to know what is on Williams' cell phone."

McGee groaned and held the back of his head, "And I wonder why my head is deformed."

"Me too." McGee glared at her as she grabbed his arm, "So spill! How was your conversation with DiNozzo this morning? Did he look tired? Overjoyed?"

"How did you know I had a conversation with Tony this morning?"

"Duh! I checked! Spill! How did he act? How?!"

McGee shook his head, "Abby calm down. He acted...like himself."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Tim sighed, "He told me that what he and Ziva did last night didn't mean anything. The heater in the hotel is broken and they were cold and it just...happened." He shook his head and put a tentative hand on her shoulder, "Sorry Abs. I know you wanted a romance thing to happen between them."

"I don't believe it, McGee!" She said, and then started a walk around her station, "It's not true. It can't be! All that tension they've had all these years? No, it meant something."

"Why would Tony lie about that, Abby? If it meant anything to him, he'd be _bragging_ about it."

Abby crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't believe it. I refuse."

McGee sighed and patted her on the back, "Sorry to disappoint you."

Abby sighed and looked at her computer screen. She typed for a few seconds, pulling up the picture she made the entire office take, so that she'd have a picture of all of 'her agents'. She looked right at Tony and Ziva, who were looking at _each other_, not the camera, with smiles on their faces. "It's _not_ true."

* * *

Ziva sat in the corner, on the bed, her knees brought up to her chest in an attempt to stay warm. She wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on top of them, glaring at the back of Tony's head.

Tony sat in his own chair, his arms crossed, his head pounding. Nothing made sense.

Why the hell was Ziva on Jason's bed, holding Jason's hand and almost kissing _Jason? _

A couple more minutes of angry silence passed between them before Tony finally took in a deep breath and spoke up, "You almost kissed Jason."

Ziva, on the bed, stared at him, shivering slightly before realizing the truth of his words. She _had _almost kissed Jason. Tony was right. She wasn't entirely proud of what had happened in there, but she had successfully managed to get Tony jealous. And let him have a taste of his own medicine.

"Yes..." She started, "I almost did." She confirmed. She forgot to tell him that she wasn't exactly proud of it.

"Why?" He questioned, trying desperately to keep the pain out of his voice. He kept his back turned.

"Because he, unlike you, actually cares for me." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Enraged, her words piercing him, he turned quickly around, "Excuse me?" He demanded.

"I do not need to repeat myself. You know what I said." She huffed, glaring at him.

"I do care about you." He hissed through his gritted teeth, "More than you _know, _got that?"

"Then why did last night mean nothing?"

"Damn it, Ziva! Will you just _listen _to me!" He shouted, exasperated. _Women are so ignorant. _

"I already did, and if that was a lie, I do not want to listen to any of your others." Before he even had a chance to say something, he watched as she stood up and straightened the bottom of her shirt, walking out of the watch room in a huff.

"Ziva!" he called, "Ziva!" he groaned and then turned back around, sliding down in his chair. Deciding that he better keep his mind off of Ziva, he turned back to the monitor with Corrado, who was talking on the phone with someone.

Furrowing his eyebrows together, he grabbed the headphones off of the table and slipped them on his ears, turning up the volume. He could barely hear him, but it sounded like he was talking about a meet. A meet with who?

He was interrupted by a knock on the door and he groaned, "Damn it! I was trying to listen!" He all but shouted at his visitor.

"Sorry DiNutso." Jason grinned and Tony turned around in his chair to see him leaning up against the side of the door, "I was just seeing if Ziva was in here."

"Why?" He demanded, trying to keep his voice down, and the anger out of his tone.

"None of your business." He smirked and Tony stood up, walking slowly towards him.

"You do understand that she's _my _partner, right? I'm here to protect her from guys like you."

"Guys like me?" He questioned, gesturing to himself, "Oh, I get it. You're supposed to protect her from guys that are compassionate. From guys that actually care, is that it?"

Tony growled and narrowed his eyes at him, "No. Guys that just want her in bed."

He laughed, "You're such a damn hypocrite."

"What?" He demanded, stepping even closer to him, slower.

"You just want to sleep with her until the sex goes to 'good'."

Tony felt his fingers curl into a fist, "Never." he growled, taking a step towards him, their bodies not even feet from each other as Jason did the same.

"Oh, okay, since you'll 'never' sleep with her...you mind giving me some pointers?"

"The only pointer you're gonna get is to stay the hell away from her."

He laughed, "Oh yeah, that's gonna work." He sarcastically said, "I mean, considering that I'll be sleeping with her soon." He didn't even get to respond though, for Tony felt the anger pulse out of his veins. He made a run at him, shoving him into the wall with a large boom. Jason reacted immediately, shoving Tony back, away from him.

Acting solely on his adrenaline and his anger at the situations that had been played out in front of him, he took a swing, whacking him in the nose. Crying out in pain, his hands subconsciously went up to cover his wound, allowing Tony to take advantage of the moment. He started towards him again when Jason turned and grabbed his wrist tightly in his hand, bending his arm behind him in pain before kneeing him in the small of his back. He fell onto the floor and let out a hiss in pain, pushing both of his hands down onto the ground to help himself up, only to fall back down again.

His right wrist _burned _in pain and he could literally see it swell up, the bruise already forming.

Turning around onto his back, he looked up at Jason whose red nose was bleeding like crazy, some of the blood dripping down onto his shirt. His hands were also coated in the substance and he wiped his nose again, "I bet Ziva would love to be doing this to you..."

Tony didn't waste a second as he let out a yell, heaving himself off of the ground and throwing himself at him. Jason fell against the bed, shoving it up against the wall with a loud crash. His back hurt insanely, but he managed to stand up and make a full on tackle at Tony, sending him flying on the table, the computers sitting there falling and hitting the floor, the sound system that was connected to Corrado and basically everything flying off of the table and through the window.

The glass broke as Tony's feet went over his head, falling off of the table and into the corner, the plugs sparking slightly as they were yanked out of the wall, the computer monitors laying on their sides.

The door to the watch room opened quickly, revealing Ziva David, her eyes wide like those of a deer in the headlights.

Jason, realizing that Tony was unconscious let out a sigh of relief as he collapsed onto the floor, "What the hell is going on here?" She demanded, noticing the wreckage of the room. It was only then, as her eyes scanned the room, that she noticed the man that was out cold in the corner of the room, "Tony..." She breathed, hurrying past Jason and over to him, brushing some of the hair that fell in front of her face behind her ear. She moved some of the monitors out of the way, most of them broken but some of them completely intact before sitting down on her knees.

Carefully, she reached over and touched his shoulder, gently, "Tony?" She questioned, concern definite in her voice.

She felt all of the anger that she had previously had towards him leave as he didn't move.

Moving her hand to his face, she pushed the hair that was in his face away, her fingertips brushing up against his forehead.

In the doorway, Terri and Russell quickly stopped, watching the two before noticing Jason, who was trying to get the bleeding to stop in his nose. Terri motioned for Russell to go to the bathroom and get some paper towels for the FBI agent. He nodded and then left Terri standing there staring at Jason and then staring at Tony and Ziva.

"What happened?" Terri questioned, and Ziva turned away from Tony to look at Jason, waiting for his answer.

"I...uh...DiCrazy and I got into a fight."

Terri rolled her eyes, "We can _see that, _Jace. I guess the real question is..._why _were you fighting?"

"Oh." Jason started, but stopped when Russell entered the room, a wad of paper towels in his hands. He handed it to Jason and he took it, holding it to his nose as he spoke, his tone nasally, "Well we kinda...he pissed me off, okay?"

Terri and Ziva looked at each other, Ziva glancing back at the out cold Tony once again, "Why did he piss you off?" Terri questioned, squatting down next to him.

Jason looked at Ziva, who stared at him with unreadable eyes. He gulped and then went to respond, trying to rack his brain for anything besides 'We were fighting over you, Ziva.' Thankfully, as if to save him from answering, Tony groaned from his position in the corner, causing all attention to be moved from Jason to Tony.

Ziva turned back towards him and he blinked his eyes open, "Tony?" She questioned and he looked up at her, his green eyes larger than normal.

"Ziva..." He started as he went to sit up, Ziva helping him in the process, "What...what happened?" He questioned, lifting a hand up to his head before hissing in pain. Ziva cringed and took his hand carefully in hers, running her thumb over his wrist.

"You and Jason got into a fight." She started, and Tony remembered, "You fractured your wrist." She commented and Tony stared at her.

"I..." He started and Ziva looked over his face, noting the small cut right underneath his hair.

She resisted the urge to reach up and touch it.

"Come on, let's get you up." Ziva started, standing up and wrapping her arms around his waist, pulling him up so that he was standing upright. As far as Ziva could see, Tony didn't have any other injuries besides the couple other bruises and cuts.

She helped him towards the chair, sitting him down and making sure he was comfortable before stepping back and staring down at him. He looked up at her as Terri helped Jason up, "Thanks, Ziva..." he muttered, "I...I'm sorry." He nodded, sincerely, looking up at her.

Suddenly, everything came racing back at her.

Why they were fighting.

Why she was mad at him in the first place....

She didn't say anything as she walked past him and out of the room, leaving him alone in his thoughts, his fractured wrist pulsing in pain.

* * *

"Well this thing is shot." Russell commented as he walked into the watch room with Terri and Jason, who were getting ready for their shift in about thirty minutes. He had gone to retrieve the listening device that had crashed through the window and landed down on the concrete pavement below during the rumble.

Tony glanced at him and then at the device in his hands before turning back to his spot that he had been rooted in since Ziva had left.

It appeared that the only 'real' injury that Tony sustained was a fractured wrist, the only 'real' injury Jason obtained was a broken nose, which was now taped up.

The two had insisted that they didn't need to go to the hospital, for they had a first aid kit with them. Terri had taped up his wrist afters she had taped up Jason's nose, causing him to look rather hilarious.

Tony had to try not to laugh.

Terri sighed as Russell sat down. He had gotten annoyed that Jason and Tony had managed to break two of the monitors, two that he believed were extremely vital for what they were trying to accomplish.

Tony didn't care.

It didn't appear that Jason really cared either.

Terri sighed, "We're gonna have to use the back-up then, huh?" She questioned and Russell looked at her before nodding.

"Yeah, but that runs on a different frequency than the ones that we set up in Corrado's building." he commented.

"Well how'd you put them in before?" Tony demanded.

"He wasn't there before, DiNozzo." Terri explained and Tony sighed.

Jason laughed, a little coldly, "Then how the hell are we gonna put new devices back in there?" He demanded and everyone just looked down, unsure of what to say....they honestly didn't know how.

"Yeah," Russell laughed, "It's not like we have super powers or something."

Tony grinned, "We've got a ninja."

They all looked at him and he let his smile fall, "But Russell or Terri'll have to talk to her." He finished, looking down at his hands.

"Ziva's a...ninja?" Russell asked, in awe, and Tony nodded.

"Yeah..." He started, "Well...Mossad Assassin that was trained to be a ninja. It's in her blood. Or training. Whichever one you choose."

"You uh....wanna go talk to her?" Russell questioned Terri, and she shook her head.

"No, that's okay." She smiled and Russell sighed.

"Ask who what?" All four of them turned and looked at Ziva, who was standing in the doorway.

"You." Terri started and then nudged Russell.

"Yeah....uh...we were gonna see if you could uh...well if you wanted to...uh...go into Corrado's house and put these new listening devices in...yeah..." He finished, letting out a sigh.

She stared at him for a second or two before shrugging, "Okay."

* * *

Ziva was annoyed.

It was the fifth time in the past fifteen minutes that Russell had made her go into a different room and perform and mic and video test for her earwig and camera necklace.

He motioned for her to go into the other room again when Ziva groaned, "If you make me do that _one more time, _I _swear _I will kill you!"

Russell fumbled on his words before nodding vigurously and handing her the small listening devices that she was supposed to plant. He pulled out a blueprint and aerial shots of the building, explaining where to place them.

Tony tried not to act concerned as he watched her adjust her camera before leaving the room.

Once she was gone, Tony all but shoved Russell away from the monitor, the only one that was up and functioning at the moment, and snatched the headphones off from around Russell's neck, placing them on his ears as he sat down in the chair, watching as the camera moved while she walked.

They had to wait until it was dark and Corrado went to bed, resulting it that being around one in the morning.

The camera itself was giving a rather dark image, but Tony expected that as she walked outside.

Looking around and noticing that no one was outside, she started down the alley between the hotel and the building that Corrado was staying in, starting towards the fire escape ladder. Looking around once more, she made a jump, grasping onto the bottom rung of the ladder before hoisting herself up.

To everyone's amazement, she didn't make a sound.

She managed her way up the ladder before she realized that she had to open up the window. Using two hands, she started opening it up.

"_Ziva..." _She heard Russell say into her earwig, "_Be quiet...the room you're trying to get into is Corrado's bedroom." _

She paused before opening it up just a little more. Through the camera, Terri furrowed her eyebrows together as she determined the size of the hole she had made, "Uh...how's she gonna make it through that?" She questioned and Tony smirked.

"Just watch."

She shimmied through the opening, her soft feet padded as she landed on the floor. Closing the window behind her, she hurriedly tip-toed towards his bedside table, inserting one listening device into a small crack between two parts of the table.

She paused as she heard Corrado groan and turn over so that he was facing her.

Freezing completely he groaned again.

On the other end of the camera, Tony's breath caught in his throat as he watched Corrado move on the bed through the camera.

Corrado moved back to his original position and Ziva waited just a second or two before moving once again. She hurried out of the bedroom and into the main room where dozens of papers were scattered all over the place. She planted the listening device as she heard Russell in her ear again, "_Since you're in there, see if you can find out any contacts or anything that might help us figure out what Corrado has planned."_

Ziva sighed and looked towards the bedroom before quietly moving over to a pile of papers, shifting through them, "These are just receipts." She whispered.

_"For what?" _

"Food...that sort of thing." She whispered, "Oh, but this is interesting..."

On the other end of the line, with the other agents, all they heard was 'this is'; the rest was just a bunch of static.

Russell and Tony looked nervously at each other, "Come again?"

_"I...." _More static followed, "_...listen..." _More static followed.

Tony squinted through the darkness of the camera and onto what Ziva was looking at, trying to figure it out, "The radio frequency for her earwig has gone hinky. He must have some equipment in there or something that's interfering with it." Tony started.

"Hey Ziva..." He started, but then stopped as he heard her voice.

_"Need you..." _She said, and then came in and out with the static, "_...help..." _

And that was when everything on Tony's end of the feed went black.


	6. Resolution

**Hey guys! We'd just like to thank all the reviewers, you guys rock!! :) We know that updates aren't coming as fast as they were, but we're working on two stories at once and it's...kinda hectic. But it's love. 3 So yeah, just stick with us. Ok, we'll shut up. Reviewww. :)**

Tony felt his heart drop to the ground.

He couldn't see his partner on the screen anymore.

Pushing his earwig further in his ear, he spoke loudly, "Ziva?"

No response.

He looked over at Terri, then at Jason, then down at Russell, at which time he hit the FBI agent on the shoulder. "Get her back on the screen!" He practically screamed.

Russell was typing rapidly on the keyboard, "I'm _trying_ to, DiNozzo." Tony scoffed and leaned on the table with his left hand, "Ziva? SITREP!"

"Officer David?" Terri questioned. When she received no response she sighed and looked down at her partner, "Russell do we know what happened?"

Russell sighed, "No, Ter, I don't."

Tony turned and stared into Terri's eyes, "I'm going over there." He snapped and practically ripped his earwig out of his ear, walking quickly to the door until Terri's hand around his strong arm stopped him from walking any further.

"No, DiNozzo. You need to wait."

He spoke through his teeth, "Let me go." He said.

"If you go over there now and she is caught he'll kill her, Tony." Terri said sternly.

"Caught? You think she's caught? She can't be. She's Ziva."

"Yes, she is. But she's also human. I know you care for her but you've got to use your head. What does your gut tell you?" Tony was about to reply when he heard Ziva's voice come through the speakers.

"What'd she say?" He questioned, ripping his arm from Terri's grip as he hurried back over to the monitors.

"That wasn't live. I'm replaying what we last heard from her to see if I can figure out what happened." Russell said. Tony looked down at his watch. 5 minutes of silence had passed.

And that was too many.

He stuffed the earwig back into his ear, deciding that he should try again, "Ziva? Ziva this is Tony do you copy?" Terri, Jason, and Russell could all hear the panic in his voice through their own ear wigs.

"Tony, calm down, I'm sure she's fine." Russell commented. Tony gritted his teeth together and wanted to punch the geek-like man, but his right hand and wrist was currently wrapped up from the fight with the _other_ FBI Agent that he hated.

"She better be." He said.

Jason laughed and decided that it was his turn to comment, "Why do you care?"

"Shut the hell up, Scott. Unless you want something else on your body broken."

Jason laughed, "Ziva can make me feel a hell of a lot better."

Tony started towards him, the pain in his right wrist be damned, but his path was interrupted by Terri, once again. "Enough you two!" She yelled, causing Jason to chuckle.

"Where is she?" He said loudly again.

"I am right here." Ziva David said, standing in the doorway. All four Agents snapped their heads up as Tony rushed over to her.

"Ziva!" He said, the panic painfully obvious in his voice, "Are you okay?" He placed his left hand on her right forearm, rubbing his thumb slightly back and forth. Ziva looked up at him, her brown eyes looked directly into his green ones. The look on that ridiculously handsome face of his combined with the worry in his eyes gave her the urge to kiss him, her lips on his, but then she remembered.

It was _nothing_.

She moved away from his grip and took the earwig out of her ear, walking past him. Tony closed his eyes and sighed as he turned around, studying her body as much as he could. From what he could tell, she was unharmed.

He let out a silent sigh of relief as he walked over to the group again.

"Are you okay?" Terri asked.

Ziva nodded, "I am fine." She said. Tony rolled his eyes and sat down in one of the empty chairs. That was the _same_ question that he asked. And she wouldn't respond.

"What happened, exactly?" Terri asked. The look Jason gave Ziva didn't go unnoticed by Tony. Truthfully, if his wrist wasn't in pain like it was at the current moment, he would've punched him again. Repeatedly.

Ziva sighed, "I do not know. I entered the kitchen and the static started. As I neared the living room, I could not hear anything."

Tony decided to speak, "Did Corrado wake up?"

Ziva snapped her eyes at the man again, "No." She said.

"Well the good news is..." Russell started, causing Tony and Ziva to take their stares off of each other, "...we are back in business. I can hear Corrado's snoring."

Terri smiled contently, "Job well done, Officer David."

Ziva half smiled as a response, nodding slightly. She glanced at her partner once more before turning and leaving the room. The other three were staring at him, daring him to say something. With a sigh, he stood from the chair and quickly left the room. Just as Ziva's door was closing, he grabbed it with his good hand and walked in behind her.

She rolled her eyes and stared at him, "What do you want, DiNozzo?" She asked.

Tony scoffed, "I wanted to make sure you're okay."

Ziva crossed her arms under her chest, staring at him, "I am fine." She said again, "Not that you care." She quickly added.

He groaned, "Ziva I _do_ care."

"Whatever. Leave please." She snapped.

"No, I'm not leaving. We're gonna talk."

"There is nothing to talk about. Leave."

"Ziva if you will just-"

"Get out of here!" She yelled.

He sighed, "What you heard me telling McGee was-"

He stopped when he was cut off again, "I do not care, DiNozzo. Get. Out."

He had enough, "David will you just shut up and listen to me?!" He yelled at her, loudly. He instantly felt horrible.

But talking in his normal tone wasn't getting the job done.

Ziva stared at him for several seconds before turning and promptly leaving the room. Tony sighed and sat down on Ziva's bed, burying his hand in his left hand.

Things were never going to be the same.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony sat there for at least 10 minutes, his mind racing on thoughts of him and Ziva.

He hated that things had turned out as bad as they did. He didn't want it this way.

He wanted to be happy.

And he wanted _her_ to be happy.

And right now, neither one of them were happy.

Deciding that he had to try and talk to her, he stood from her bed and walked to the door, looking each way before calling her name softly, "Ziva?" When he received no response, not that he really expected to, he sighed and started down the hallway. "Ziva?" He called again, softly, making sure that none of the FBI people could hear him. Once he was in the lobby, he walked over to the desk, speaking Italian to the woman behind it, _"Have you seen a woman with long brown hair, brown eyes about..._" he gestured with his left hand, _"...this tall?" _The little woman smiled and seemed slightly shocked that Tony could speak her language, she nodded and used her head to point in the direction of the snack room. He returned her smile, "Grazie."

Slowly, cautiously, he walked into the snack room, where he saw his partner sitting at the table. He looked up at TV that was probably from the early 90's, the news blasting in Italian. Ziva looked at him and rolled her eyes, "Get away from me, please."

Tony sighed, "Ziva, I want to talk to you."

"That is a problem, DiNozzo, I do not want to _listen_ to you."

"What you heard me tell McGee-"

"It is what I have expected from you."

"That's not who I am, Ziva. And if you will let me finish-"

"It is not important."

He was frustrated again, "It's important to me!" He practically yelled. The room became silent except for the news report. Ziva stood from the table and started towards the door, but it was being blocked by Tony's body.

"Move." She demanded. Tony stared at her, and decided that wasting his breath, trying to get her to listen to him was pointless. When he didn't move, Ziva rolled her eyes and scoffed, walking further into the room. "You are so childish, DiNozzo." She spat.

Tony gaped, _"I'm _childish? You're the one who can't keep your mouth shut and listen to what I have to say before you interrupt me!"

"That is because I do not care. We are to finish this mission, and then I'll be out of your life. For good."

"Whatever. You do what you want." Tony said, and started to leave the room, when the news reporter caught his attention. He looked over at Ziva and noticed that she, too, was watching it. The picture on the screen was of a burning building, and the news castor spoke rapid Italian as she explained the situation. Helicopters were shown flying over the building spraying chemicals on top of the orange flames.

_"__... questo è il sesto fuoco questa settimana, e la polizia sospetta che ci saranno più. Gli investigatori dicono che gli incendi sono molto intenzionale, la benzina è la causa degli incendi. Questo sembra essere opera di un gruppo ben noto cellula terroristica. Chiunque abbia informazioni a contattare immediatamente la polizia locale.__"_

Ziva looked at Tony, even though she really didn't want to, but she caught a few of the Italian words and wanted to know what the rest of it was about. The smell of him was strong in the room, and she couldn't hardly take it anymore. And the jeans that fit him perfectly, the sweater that he was wearing, and his perfect hair didn't help her remember that she wanted to shoot him.

Damn him.

Tony saw her looking at him, and knew what she wanted.

A translation.

"That's the sixth fire this week. Gasoline is the cause, investigators think that it's a terrorist cell."

"The same terrorist cell that we are after?" She asked.

Tony looked at her, "Most likely."

"Perhaps we should keep our eyes open."

Tony laughed and Ziva stopped as she tried to leave the room again, "Is something funny?" She snapped.

"Yep. The fact that it took a news report in Italian to get you to speak to me." Ziva rolled her eyes and promptly left the room, needing nothing more than to get out of there. There was one thing she needed.

Fresh air.

Tony watched as she left the room and then out of the lobby, the door closing behind her. He walked the opposite way, heading towards the watch room to tell the others about the fires.

And he wasn't talking about the fire in his veins.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ziva walked out of the building that she was appropriately named "the igloo" by Russell. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked, hoping that it would in some way help her to become slightly warmer.

She spotted a coffee shop a little further down the street, and let out a sigh of relief as she quickly walked towards it.

If anything, a nice, hot, cup of tea would help her warm up.

And Tony's warm OSU sweatshirt.

But that smelled like him.

And that's the last thing she wanted.

She shook that thought out of her mind, mentally scolding herself. She _had_ to quit thinking about him.

That wouldn't be a problem. She did that every single day.

She rolled her eyes at herself.

To stop thinking about Tony was a task that her mind couldn't do.

For 4 years now.

As she moved in front of the coffee building, she looked both ways and prepared to cross the street.

She made it across safely, but it was _after_ she crossed the street that she got hit.

By a person.

The man grabbed both of her arms to prevent her from falling on the concrete. Ziva stood to her full form and looked at him, it was only then that she realized that it was the man that she'd been watching on the monitors for the last few days.

_Corrado_.

"Lei parla inglese?"

Ziva nodded, "Yes."

He then smiled at her, "Are you okay?"

Ziva nodded again, "I am fine, thank you." Corrado nodded and let go of both of her arms, awkwardly stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I am sorry about that, miss. I did not see you as you crossed the street."

She smiled at him, "It is quite alright."

"I am sure that you would rather get ran over by a person rather than a car, yes?"

Ziva chuckled, "That is true."

He then held out his hand, "My name is Elia."

Ziva looked down at his hand and then put hers in his, "Gina."

Corrado smiled and looked her up and down before returning to her eyes, "Would you like to...have a cup of coffee with me?" Ziva looked around, "I am sure that your boyfriend will not mind."

Ziva snapped her eyes up to him, but quickly smiled, as to cover up her blatant stare. She swallowed the lump in her throat, "Sure."

Back at the igloo, Tony walked into the watch room and looked at the two men sitting there, a strange urge to punch both of them came over his body.

Jason spoke first, "What in the hell do you want, Dipzo?"

"First of all, you need to find yourself a new nickname for me. Dipzo is... a little old. Second, go and find yourself a personality." He sat down on the bed, "Third, the only reason that I came in here to see your ugly face is to tell you that I just saw a news report about fires that has been set to buildings. Six in the last week."

Jason and Russell stared at him, "So?"

Tony narrowed his eyes, "And the police think it has to do with a terrorist cell."

Russell nodded, "I'll do research on them."

Jason put his hand up to his earwig, listening carefully. "Terri has a visual."

Tony stood from the bed and walked over to the monitor, "A visual on what?"

"Corrado, Dipshit." Jason spat. "How does _that_ nickname work for you?" Tony glared at him, but Russell interrupted before he could reply.

"He's on the move. Terri is following him."

"Alone?" Tony asked and then started for the door, chuckling slightly, "Yeah, that's just like the FBI, allowing your partner to be in danger without backup."

Elia Corrado walked from the register with two cups in his hand. He looked at Gina and sat the two back on the counter, adding sugar to his coffee and a small, white, round pill to Ziva's tea that began to dissolve quickly. When it was no longer visible, he put the lids back on the cups and walked over to the table, placing Ziva's cup in front of her.

She looked down at it, and then back up at him as he sat down across from her. She turned the cup on the table, continuously looking around the small shop.

"So, Gina," Elia started, "What brings you to the Eternal City?"

She half smiled at him, "I am here with my boyfriend. His grandparents live here. We are here visiting."

Elia nodded, "I see." He took a sip of his coffee, "So tell me about him."

Ziva chuckled, looked down at her tea, and then back up at him, "Why do you want to know?"

Corrado raised and dropped one shoulder, "I would just like to know what a lucky man he is to be with a beautiful woman like yourself."

Tony walked quickly to towards the location that was said in his ear wig. He spotted Terri sitting on a bench, her legs crossed, her head behind a news paper. He sat down on the opposite side. "What are you doing here, DiNozzo?" She mumbled.

"You shouldn't be alone following this psycho." He returned. "Where is he?"

She motioned with her head, "Across the street, in the coffee shop. Hasn't moved. Seems that he's with someone he knows. Can't tell who it is for an ID, though."

Tony casually looked around for a few seconds before squinting eyes to focus on the two people in the coffee shop. Anger immediately filled his veins as he ripped his cell phone out of it's holster on his jeans. "You don't need to ID here. That's my partner." Terri felt her mouth fall open in shock.

Was she insane?

"So what is your boyfriend's name?" Elia asked, though he already knew. Ziva swallowed another lump and smiled at him.

"His name is Jean-Paul." She said and before he could reply, her cell phone rang. She smiled at Elia and stood from the table, "Excuse me, please." She said sweetly.

When the phone rang in Tony's ear three times, it was three times to many. "_What, __DiNozzo?_" Ziva spat into the phone.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing? You're insane for going in there without back up. Get out of there! _Now. __Meet me across the street. If you don't leave, I'll come and get you." Tony said sternly. Ziva promptly hung up her phone and walked back over to the table. She knew Tony was right about the danger involved. _

But she would never admit it.

"I am sorry, I have to leave." She said sweetly, holding out her hand, "It was nice to meet you."

He stood and shook her hand, "Enjoy your time in Italy, Gina."

She turned and left the shop, glancing across the street. Tony stared at her and watched as she stayed on the wrong side of the street, walking quickly.

"I assume you will get her back safely?" Terri asked. Tony only turned to her and nodded, quickly crossing the street to catch up with the Israeli.

"Ziva!" He yelled, but she didn't stop. He gently grabbed her wrist and turned her around quickly.

"Get your hands off of me." She said through her teeth.

"Ziva what in the hell were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous that was?"

"Let. Go. Of. Me." She said, more slowly this time.

"What do you think Gibbs would do if I told him about that?"

"I can take care of myself." She still spoke through her teeth, her anger growing by the second.

"It is my job to protect you. We're partners."

"Not anymore." She said, and then ripped her arm from his grip, walking ahead of him to the hotel.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Terri groaned and walked out of the watch room, particularly disgusted with Jason. He just _had _to go on and on about some stupid movie...or was it some blond bimbo he picked up a couple of weeks ago?

She honestly didn't know.

She honestly didn't _care. _

But she was stuck with him.

At times he was nice, but at others...she was ready to shove him off a cliff.

She sighed, _I guess all partnerships end up like this. _Her mind wandered off to Tony and Ziva, who had seemed so happy and the best of friends when they arrived. In fact, if Terri didn't get to know that, she would have thought that they were a couple.

And now?

They were on the rocks.

The sharp jagged ones that seemed to be piercing through their hearts.

Now the question was...why were they all of a sudden so upset with each other?

Unless...

"Tony!" Ziva shouted as she started up the stairs. Terri quickly entered her bedroom, keeping the door open ajar so she could hear them, "I do not give a _damn _about your opinion. I can date whomever I want!"

"Oh yeah?" Tony demanded, "Well I don't particularly like the fact that you're sleeping with terrorists behind my back!"

_So they _are _together? _Terri thought from her position behind the door, her mind racing as she continued to eaves drop.

"I am not _sleeping _with him. He bumped into me while I was crossing the street, kept me from falling and then offered me a cup of coffee."

"You know, I'm surprised you're still alive."

"Why?" She demanded, "I can take care of myself, you know."

Tony rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Get over yourself, David."

She fumed and there was a moment of silence before she responded in an angry, menacing tone, "I will once you get over your childish attitude and lack of respect for women."

Terri hadn't realized how long she had been standing there before she noticed the lack of sound out in the hallway. She heard a knocking on her door...no, more like a bang and she opened it up, rolling her eyes, "What do you _want, _Jace?" she demanded, groaning.

"I think we should get back together." He grinned and she just rolled her eyes.

"How many times do you ask me that a _week?" _

"Uh..." He paused, looking up at the ceiling as he counted the tiles.

"The answer still remains the same..."

"No." He sighed, "Great. Well can't you just sleep with me?"

She smiled, "Sure..." She watched his face light up, "You can sleep on the floor while I take the bed. Don't snore too loudly, okay?"

He sighed, "Fine, you wanna sleep with someone else, that's fine."

She shook her head, "I don't want to be with anyone right now, okay?"

"That's what they all say..."

"Jason...move, okay?"

"Is it that DiNozzo guy?" He demanded and she groaned.

"Jason! This conversation is _over, _got it?"

He sighed and nodded, "Yeah...okay. I'm getting some lunch, you want anything?"

She shook her head, "No. I don't."

"Okay." He nodded once again and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking towards the stairs. Terri watched him leave and then moved her stare to Ziva's door before making light steps across the hall and knocking just as gently.

There was a pause before Ziva spoke, "Who is it?"

"Ziva, it's Terri..." She started, and the door cracked open just a little before Ziva put on a fake smile and stood in the doorway.

"Hello."

"Hi..." She smiled, "Uh..." She looked around, "May I come in?"

Ziva paused before nodding slowly, "Yes." She moved out of the way, enough to let Terri move through.

Terri entered her room and surveyed it, letting her eyes scan over the clothes that were carelessly thrown over the floor. However, as she scanned, her eyes caught onto a red sweatshirt that was strewn across her bedspread, the back writing of 'Buckeyes' the only thing that was visible.

During their morning shift, Tony had gone on about his college...Ohio State...they were the Buckeyes...this was _Tony's _sweatshirt?

She sighed; she honestly wasn't surprised.

"Are you doing okay? You seem a little...out of sorts. You were fine last night."

"I am fine."

She smiled and took a cautious step towards her, "Well I know that Tony was getting a little-" She watched as her eyes nearly turned red in anger at the sound of her partners name, "Okay, never mind...you know what? I know what you need." She smiled.

"You to go away?" Ziva muttered under her breath as she took a seat on her bed, pulling down at the sleeves of her shirt, so that they were over her hands. Terri didn't hear her.

"Let's go shopping." She smiled, "We might find a really nice outfit for Tony to see you in?" She lingered, letting her smile grow a little more devilishly.

Ziva laid back down on the bed, groaning, "All the better reason _not _to go shopping."

"Come on." She tugged gently on her arm, "Let's go. You need to get out of this meat locker anyways."

"It is warmer outside." Ziva admitted, sighing as she sat up in bed, "I do not _do _girly things."

"Well _I _do." She smiled as Ziva stood up, "Let's go...before anyone notices we left."

Ziva smiled slightly as she chuckled, "Yes. I have had enough of Tony being an over-protective John ass..." She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Terri just stared at her, "Uh...I think you mean 'jackass.'"

Ziva made a motion with her hand, "Whatever. He is annoying no matter if he is a John or a Jack."____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Terri grabbed her coat tighter around her as they started down the street, rather awkwardly, Ziva might add, "So..." Terri started, breaking the odd silence that had settled between them, "...what's Tony like?"

Ziva groaned, "Why does everything revolve around _Tony?" _

"Well it's like you two are a two-for-one package or something." She shrugged, "And..." She looked around and then bumped into her shoulder, playfully, "He's rather hot." She smiled, lowering her voice as well as her head towards Ziva's.

She rolled her eyes, "He is nothing under his looks." She almost regretted the words once they slipped past her lips. She hadn't _really _meant that...had she? No, he was still her partner...no matter how good he was in bed.

"Oh really?" she questioned, interested as they made their way through two people on the sidewalk, "And what brought this up? You seemed like the best of friends when you arrived here in Italy."

Ziva groaned, "I do not want to talk about this matter any further, understood?" she questioned and she nodded, "Good. Let us go into this..." she looked up at the street sign, hanging above her. Thankfully, it was a boutique, "...boutique." She finished, shoving her hands into her pockets and making a bee line towards the door.

Terri sighed as she followed her into the shop, the topic of Tony and Ziva's relationship burning in her mind._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony let his head fall back and then forwards as he walked into the watch room where Russell and Jason sat there, Jason laying on the bed, his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. He glanced up as Tony walked in, throwing the bag down onto the table.

It slid and nearly knocked off another computer monitor.

"About damn time." He spat and Tony glared at him.

"Shut up. At least I don't have an over sized band-aid on my nose."

Russell sighed and put the earphones on his head, wanting to tune them out as much as he could, "Idiots." He hissed under his breath.

He sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed, "Hey!" Tony looked up at him, "At least I have two-" He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers, "-hands that I can use."

"I can still punch you."

"I still have two hands whereas you have one. I've got the upper hand...literally." He grinned and Tony gritted his teeth together, trying desperately not to lunge himself at him and tackle him to the ground. He pulled his food out of the bag as he attempted not to make eye contact.

"So you know where Ziva went?"

"Oh..." Russell pulled his headphones off as he stared at them. Jason just closed his open mouth; he was going to answer Tony before he was interrupted, "She and Terri went shopping." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "Terri just sent me a text."

"So they're...together."

"Yeah." He nodded and then Tony let out a sigh that was almost in relief. He turned to Jason, shoving his hands into his pockets, even though his right wrist burned he managed to keep down the yelp of pain.

"You can leave now." Tony suggested, even though it came out more as a command.

"Oh, wait." Russell stood, "I gotta use the restroom....Jason can cover for me while I...do my business." He laughed shortly and then noticed both of their looks before he scurried out of the watch room.

"So." Jason started, and Tony turned around in a circle so that he could roll his eyes.

"What?" He demanded.

"You and Ziva still aren't on good terms, huh? I guess that's what you get for sleeping with her."

He gritted his teeth together, "At least I got that close." He grinned and he laughed.

"Yeah, but it was just a one-night stand. Obviously meant nothing to you, but I'll let you in on a secret..." He leaned towards him, "...meant the world to her. So congratulations, DiBomb, you just re-enacted the extinction of the dinosaurs on her heart." He grinned, sarcastically and Tony narrowed his eyes at him.

"Whatever, Scott."

"So how do you feel about Ziva going for the opposite gender now?"

Tony shot his eyes to his, "Excuse me?"

"She and Terri went out..." He raised an eyebrow, "You must be that bad in bed, huh?"

Thankfully, Russell entered the room before Tony even got the chance to say anything else.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Abby would be so upset at me if she knew I was doing this." Ziva sighed as she stared down at the two white bags that she was carrying as she and Terri walked down the street. They had both managed to pick out a nice outfit, in case Tony was actually going to go and visit his grandparents...she knew that she'd have to go with him.

"Abby?" she questioned and Ziva nodded.

"Our forensic scientist at NCIS." She glanced at her, "She always tries to get me to go shopping with her..." She laughed, "...that never does work."

Terri smiled, "Ah. I see. Does she get you to buy clothes for Tony?" She lingered and Ziva rolled her eyes.

"It is a good thing we are going back to the hotel." She admitted, "Or else I may have killed you by now, with your obsession with Tony and I."

"Well..." She looked up at the sky, "It is getting dark, and this is normally the time when Corrado goes to bed so we need to be heading back."

"Yes." Ziva smiled, "I would love nothing more than to take a nice, hot shower."

"Warm's the best we have."

"It is better than nothing, yes?"

Terri nodded, "I agree."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When they arrived back at the hotel, Ziva and Terri were informed that both Tony and Jason were already taking showers, according to Russell.

Ziva was gathering her necessities for her shower which included her towel, shampoo and conditioner, soap, washcloth, body wash (that smelled, as Tony had pointed out, like honeysuckle), and pajamas (a pair of blue pants with an off white lace around the bottom with a matching tank top with string straps, white lace outlining the v-neck and her chest).

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair and then started to leave the bathroom when she caught her reflection in the mirror as she passed.

She stood there for a couple of minutes, staring at the reflection that was staring back at her, wondering where she went wrong.

What she did to deserve this.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Terri all but snatched her bathroom toiletries off of the chair before hurrying out of the bedroom. She wanted that last shower before Ziva got it. Selfish, she knew, but she wanted it...oh so desperately. She felt disgusting and dirty.

As she walked down the hallway, she neared the bathroom, starting to enter it when she nearly got run over by Tony DiNozzo, "Tony?" She demanded as he hurried past her, solely a towel clad around his waist, the water droplets running off of his face and down his body as he ran.

"Need shampoo!" he shouted back and she shook her head as she entered the bathroom. The one closest to the end of the room the one she noted as the one Tony had...was...occupying; he had left the water running and the curtain open.

She hurried into the one closest to the door and let out almost a sigh of relief; she finally had a shower to herself.

Ziva entered the bathroom moments later, looking around and then spotting the curtain open for the shower at the end of the row. Smiling to herself, she hurried over only to find that the water was running. Sighing, she moved towards the toilets, checking under the stalls to see if anyone was there.

No one.

She moved back towards the shower and stared at it for a little while longer before realizing _why _the shower was still running; Tony probably was the last one to use it and he, being the immature person he was, probably left it on. Rolling her eyes, she entered the shower and closed the curtain behind her, stripping quickly; she knew that there was only a limited amount of _warm _water left. And since Tony had left it running...

She stepped under the water and let it caress her back, the water still warm. She smiled, maybe Tony didn't actually use that much of the warm water. She was almost proud of him. _Almost. _

Reaching down, she grabbed her shampoo bottle and squirted some of the gel substance into her hands, leaning her head back and rubbing her hands together, to get the shampoo on each hand before running it through her hair, making sure to get the ends, especially. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, the warm water refreshing on her body. She finished washing her hair and then started to rinse her hair so that it was free from the soap that covered it when the curtain flew open.

She snapped her eyes open and stood up straight as she came face to face with someone's back. They unwrapped the towel from around their waist and threw it over the rod before turning around and then stopping like a deer in the headlights.

Tony's first reaction: cover his manly parts.

The shampoo in hand, he crossed his hands over his crotch, the shampoo bottle slipping out of his fingers and nailing him in the foot on the way down. Tony winced in pain as he stared at his partner.

She was nearly up against the wall, but the water was still hitting her, rolling over her body. The un-rinsed shampoo from her hair dripped down her body, the white foamy substance particularly...pleasing...for Tony.

He didn't think his hands were big enough, "Tony." She nodded.

"Ziva..." He bit the inside of his lip, trying not to moan out her name. _Damn. _Tony thought, _Naked...in a shower...in front of your sexy as hell partner....great, just great. How come you always get into these amazing positions at the absolute worst times? Idiot. Complete idiot. _

They stared at each other for a little while longer, Tony uncomfortably standing there, "Uh...you gonna listen to me now?"

She sighed as she cocked her head to the side, "I guess I have no choice...you are blocking my only exit. And my clothes."

Again, Tony bit his tongue to suppress a moan....no clothes... "Okay, look." Tony knew he was going to have to talk fast...his hands couldn't possibly stretch anymore, even without a fractured right wrist, "So I talked to McGee, apparently he watched our...session..." Ziva's eyes went wide, "Yeah, I know. He asked me what I was going to do if Gibbs found out that we broke rule twelve, I told him that we weren't dating and that it meant nothing so that McTattletale wouldn't have anything to tell Gibbs. That's what you heard, it's not true, it meant...pretty much everything to me. That includes my James Bond Platinum DVD collection signed by Sean Connery...can I go?" He questioned, pointing his head towards the shower curtain.

Ziva just stared at him.

_It meant...pretty much everything to me. _

Everything.

And she though it meant nothing to him?

But how could she tell that he was telling the truth?

Oh...she almost smirked....he was naked in front of her. All of his areas were exposed, leaving them vulnerable to any kind of harm.

He had no choice but to tell the truth, "Great, well I'm taking that as a no answer." He gulped as the rest of her shampoo finally washed out of her hair and down her body, "Leaving now. I'll take a shower after you're done." He turned around and started to grab the towel, leaving him exposed for her to see.

As his back was slightly turned towards her, she glanced down and then back up at him just as he grabbed the towel, "Tony." She commanded as she grabbed onto his wrist, turning him around, the towel sliding off of the rod and into the water. She shoved him up against the wall, her hands roaming up and down his chest as she pressed her lips firmly against his.

Tony was completely taken by surprise, and it took him until just milliseconds before she pulled back to let him realize what was actually going on. Ziva stared at him and dropped back onto the heels of her feet, "I am sorry." She muttered.

Tony let his jaw drop as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Are you kidding me? Damn, that's all I've been able to think about!"

Ziva smiled and pressed her lips against his once again, this time their arms wrapping around each other as the water from the showerhead continued to patter down onto the tile ground below them. She pulled back and rested her forehead on his, whispering, her eyes slightly closed, "We cannot do this here."

"Why not?" He questioned, his breathing just as gone as her. She pressed a kiss up against his lips, as if to silence him.

"There are others here."

"Hmph." Tony groaned, "I wanna show Jason up." He pouted and she smiled, playing with his wet hair on the back of his head, the water rushing down her back.

"I am so very sorry. For not listening to you. All of that fighting for nothing, yes?"

"Oh, you got that right...and don't worry." He smiled, leaning closer towards her, "I can get you to shut up." He whispered, "Quiet time, Zee-vah...." She could barely hear him over the shower, he was speaking so softly as he kissed her gently before the kiss slowly heated up, the two backing up into the wall behind them. Tony started trailing kisses down her neck, the water that had gone cold in the shower starting to get warmer. He sucked gently at the base of her neck, causing her to moan. He quickly attached his lips to hers once again, "Be." He started between breaths as he kissed her again, "Quiet."

"You-" He kissed her, "I cannot!" She breathed out as his right hand started moving down her body. Even though it was fractured, her skin felt incredible under his touch.

Just as he remembered.

"Tony...." her voice was exasperated, trying desperately to catch her breath, "Please..." She pleaded, "Now." She whispered and he stared at her.

"You don't just want to kiss?" He questioned, confusion evident in his eyes.

She snapped her eyes open, "What?" She demanded and he shrugged.

"I just don't want things to go out of control like they did last time."

Ziva stared at him, "You cannot get into the same shower with me, naked, and expect me not to want something more than a _kiss." _

He smiled, "Fine by me...I don't just want a kiss either."

She rolled her eyes, "You can kill a mood."

"And heat it up again." He whispered, pressing his lips up against hers once again as he grabbed onto her hips as best he could with his wrist, trying not to wince as he pushed her up the wall so that her legs were around his waist. She locked her ankles together behind his hips and he pulled back from the kiss as he shoved his body flush against hers, letting his right hand drop so that pressure wasn't given onto it. He stared into her eyes and smiled as he whispered, "There are others here...be quiet." He said as he entered her, her moans and screams muted by his lips staying on hers.

Eventually, they became too out of breath to do anything else, for Tony had to keep his lips on hers in order to keep her quiet. They washed each other free of the stench of sex and then exited the shower, the two all but running down the hall and into Tony's bedroom.

As soon as they were inside, Tony grabbed her hand with his left one, leading her towards the bed as their fingers automatically intertwined together. However, she didn't move anywhere as she shook her head, causing confusion to run through Tony, "Zi?" he questioned and she let a shiver run up and down her spine.

"I will be back. Let me go and get something from my room." she smiled and he nodded, kissing her softly on the lips before letting her leave the bedroom.

Smiling to himself, he ran a hand through his hair and laid down onto the bed, a smile stretched from each end of his face.

He placed his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling until the door opened, revealing Ziva once again.

If possible, he let his smile grow larger.

Now, instead of the stringy top (that he didn't mind at all), she was wearing the next best thing: his Ohio State Buckeye sweatshirt.

No words were spoken as she walked towards the bed, Tony scooting over and lifting up the covers as he slipped under them as well, "I am exhausted." Tony admitted, "Damn woman, you wear me out."

She smirked and she wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his chest. She was _freezing. _That eventual cold shower didn't help her at all either, "I am tired as well." She nodded.

He yawned as he tugged on the end of one of her wet curls, his eyelids getting heavier and heavier by the moment.

The two were nearly asleep before Tony spoke, "Hey...I just realized something...I'm gonna smell like honeysuckle tomorrow."


	7. Cats and Dogs

The sunlight beaming through the only window in the cold room was what woke Ziva David the next morning. She shielded her eyes from the sun and nuzzled further into Tony's chest, and while he remained asleep, he pulled her body even closer to his. Sleep almost overcame her again as she shut her eyes, breathing in that wonderful scent of her boyfriend.

That thought caused her to smile.

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was _her_ boyfriend.

As she lay there, she listened as Tony's stomach growled. She smiled up at him, and then leaned up and gave him a gentle kiss on his lips. So gentle, in fact, that he didn't even stir. She managed to slip out of his grip without waking him, dressing in silence as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Soon after, she returned, two take out containers in a bag, filled with bacon, sausage, eggs, and toast, all items she knew that Tony loved. She smiled when he groaned in his sleep, turning over onto his back. Several ways to wake him crossed her mind, but her original thought was her favorite.

With a kiss.

She grabbed one of the containers out of the bag, holding it in one hand as she crawled on the bed, one leg on either side of Tony. She continued walking on her knees until she was right at his thighs, and she sat down, setting the container of food in the empty spot next to him. Slowly, she ran her hands up his chest and finally leaned down, pressing her lips to his. He moaned quietly and opened his eyes, immediately wrapping her arms around her, pulling her into a deeper kiss. They finally broke and Tony smiled up at her, keeping his hands on her hips.

"Good morning." He said, his groggy morning voice making Ziva smile just slightly.

"Shalom." She replied.

"Can you wake me up like that every morning? I could get used to it."

She chuckled slightly and reached for the container that was in her spot, "I have brought you breakfast."

He smiled at her, sitting up as much as he could with her sitting on his thighs (which he didn't mind). "Thank you." He said, and pulled her head to his with both hands, pressing another kiss to her lips.

She was the one that broke the kiss, backing up from him slightly, both hands on his chest, "It is going to get cold, Tony."

He sighed as she got off of him and walked over to the dresser, collecting the other container as she sat down on the bed next to him, handing him a plastic fork in the process. He leaned over and kissed her temple, "Smells delicious." He commented, and pulled the top off of the container, sticking his fork in the now slightly cold eggs.

"Yes, well, I wanted to tell you again how..." she searched for the right word, though there was really only one word that fit, "...sorry I am for not listening to you." Tony put down his fork and placed his large hand on her knee, shaking it softly.

"Ziva, it's ok." He said and then smiled, "I understand why you were so upset." He stabbed more eggs on his fork and shoved them into his mouth.

"It was...childish of me to act that way." She sighed, "And I am sorry." She repeated. Tony looked down at the remaining food in the black plastic container. It was now cold, for the air in the room was cold as well. He looked down at Ziva's hands, which were now empty, her plate sat on the floor next to the the bed. Tony did the same, the top loosely on it as he leaned over, placing one leg on either side of Ziva, just as she did that morning.

"It's o-k." He said slowly, his voice soft but reassuring. As he moved closer to her lips he muttered, "The only thing we lost is time." He used his hands to hold her head, guiding her lips to his, a grin now on his face, "And we can make up for that." She smiled as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, the kiss quickly heating up as he hovered over her. "Mmm," He moaned into her kiss, "I can't get enough of you." He muttered and finally parted from her lips, moving down down her neck. Ziva tilted her head as he continued south, and was just about to rip his shirt off and have her way with him, when there was a rather loud knock on the door.

"DiNozzo! It's Terri. Wake up!"

Tony stopped his kisses on Ziva and looked directly into her eyes, his eyes as big as golfballs. He looked down at his watch, "Shit!" He said in a whisper, "We have a shift!"

Ziva chuckled but stopped when Tony jumped off of her and pulled her off the bed, opening the small closet door and leading her inside. Ziva felt her mouth fall open, "What are you doing?!" She asked.

He put his finger on his lips as Terri knocked again, "I'm sorry." He said and then grinned, biting his lip, "Remind me to make it up to you later." Ziva clamped her mouth shut as he leaned in and quickly kissed her lips, closing the door in front of her. She crossed her arms under her chest.

He was _going_ to pay for this.

Large time.

Tony hurried over to the door and opened it quickly, revealing a very pissed-looking Terri. She had her arms crossed under her chest and a very sour look on her face.

"Morning Ter." Tony said cheerfully, and she stormed into his room. Tony looked into the hallway before closing the door. He walked into his room, stuffing his hands in his sweatpants' pockets. "So uh, what brings you here this chilly morning?"

"DiNozzo, you and David have a shift."

He chuckled nervously, "Oh really? Wow. Well you see, I was actually going to talk to you about something."

"Where is David?"

Tony shrugged, "I don't know." He lied.

Terri looked at the bed, the covers and sheets wrinkled on both sides, "Rough night, DiNozzo?"

He laughed nervously, "Yeah, I tend to roll around a lot in my sleep."

"And do you also...tend...to have two breakfasts every morning?"

Tony put his hands on his stomach, rubbing slightly, "Yep. Man's gotta eat."

Terri crossed her arms, "Where is David?" She asked again. Tony gave a quick glance to the closet that Ziva was standing in, and chuckled. "She's not in her room." Terri added.

"I need to find her, because," he put one finger in the air for emphasis, "I wanted to take her with me for a visit to my Grandparents'."

Terri stared at him blankly, "Why?" She finally asked.

He chuckled nervously again, "I uh...kinda told them that I was married. Yeah, you see, they always pressured to get married by the time I was 25, but, of course, that didn't happen. So one day when Grandpa called I told him a little white lie."

"And what are we supposed to do about Corrado?"

"Yeah, I've figured that out you take my shift and Russell takes Ziva's, then we'll take yours tomorrow night."

Terri sighed, closed her eyes, and shook her head, "Fine."

Tony grinned from ear to ear, "Thanks!" Terri waved her hand as she left the room. Tony closed and locked the door behind her and bolted over to the closet, opening the door. "Hey sweetcheeks."

Ziva narrowed her eyes at him, speaking through her teeth, "I am going to _kill_ you." She said and then grabbed his t-shirt, also grabbing a few chest hairs with it, "Slow. Painful. Death."

Tony groaned, "Ziva...chest...hair." She let him go and he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He placed both hands on her shoulders, "There is a reason to my madness."

"Really?" Ziva asked, "Not just because you are loco?"

"Well that, and I really need to you to come with me to visit my Grandparents." Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "...and to be my wife." He added.

She sighed, "Fine, Tony. I will be your wife today." He grinned like a four year old who just got a toy car for his birthday, "_Why_ did you stuff me into the closet?"

"I don't know, habit?" He said, placing his hands on her hips, "You see, when I used to have girls over all of the time, and Mom would walk in, had to put her somewhere."

Ziva rolled her eyes and he leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, "You are _so_ juvenile_." _

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"So we're married now, sweetcheeks." Tony said, a slight smile on his face, "That means we'll need rings." He pulled her into a jewelry shop, "Just some cheap ones to convince my grandparents that we're married." Ziva nodded in agreement as they walked to the counter, greeted by a man who spoke heavy Italian to them. Tony spoke a few words in Italian, and, much to Ziva's relief, they switched to English.

"You two are getting married?" The man asked.

Tony looked at Ziva and smiled, and turned back to the man, "Well, in a sense. We just need wedding bands."

The Italian man nodded and walked to one part of the counter, pointing down through the glass, "These are our best selection."

"Yeah. These are great, but we wanted to go for something cheaper." Ziva crossed her arms and stood in one spot as Tony and the Jewelry man walked down to the 'cheaper' rings. She stared at the bands, a smile on her face as she imagined how it would be to marry Tony.

And, right now, she couldn't think of a reason that she wouldn't want to.

Tony listened to the man tell a long story about his wedding as he glanced over at Ziva, who stood in the same spot, staring down at the rings. He smiled as the man finished his story, two rings now on the counter, "So you would like these two, correct?" Tony looked at him, smiled, and shook his head.

"Nah." He walked over to Ziva and wrapped his arm around her waist, "We'll take these."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ziva looked down at her left hand again, where the 'fake' wedding and engagement rings sat.

But they weren't fake at all.

In the cab, Tony reached over and grabbed her hand, "You're going to stare the shiny off, sweetcheeks."

Ziva stared at him and prepared to make her argument again, "You should have not bought these, Tony." She commented.

Tony smiled, pulled her closer to himself and wrapped his arm around her, "Ah, I wanted to." He smiled, "That means that you're mine now anyway."

Ziva scoffed, "You should not have spent all that money on a _fake_ marriage."

"All the better for my grandparents to believe." He grinned from ear to ear as the cab driver took another left turn. "Now, my grandfather's name is Giovanni DiNozzo." Ziva nodded and he continued, "And my Grandmother's name is Paola DiNozzo."

"Giovanni and Paola. Got it."

"But they'll insist that you call them Granny and Papa. They're old school."

"Old...school?" Ziva questioned.

Tony stared at her blankly, "You know, old timey?" Ziva, who was confused, stared at him even more, Tony sighed, "It means that they believe in old practices, you know. Like old traditions."

"Then why didn't you just _say_ that?" Ziva asked.

Tony thought for a second before answering her, "Because I speak English."

"I speak English as well, Tony." She retaliated.

Tony scoffed as the cab driver pulled into Mr. & Mrs. DiNozzo's driveway. Tony paid him and walked around to Ziva, grabbing her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. "You don't speak English. You speak..."

"Six. Other. Languages."

Tony reached over and pressed the doorbell, the chime playing a slight song inside. Tony whistled along with it and Ziva looked up at him, "So if I do not speak English, _darling,_ what do I speak?"

"We'll have this argument later." Tony said, a slight smile on his face. Ziva rolled her eyes just as the door opened.

"Anthony!" Giovanni yelled, taking his grandson into a tight hug, which Tony returned. Ziva stood awkwardly in the doorway as Paola came and also took her boyfriend into a hug, placing a kiss on both of his cheeks. Tony stood in the middle of them, one arm around each of their shoulders, and turned to look at Ziva.

"Papa, Granny, _this _is my wife Ziva." He smiled proudly as they both walked over to her. Ziva held out her hand and Giovanni pushed it away as he leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to each of her cheeks.

"Welcome to the family, _bello_." Ziva smiled up at him as he moved out of the way so that Paola could walk up to her, also pulling her into a tight hug.

"Why are you standing out here in the cold? Get in here. I have made some lunch. You are hungry, no?" Ziva slowly walked into the house and Tony smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her waist as they followed the older couple into the kitchen. Tony leaned down and whispered into her ear as they walked, "They love you already, _Mrs. DiNozzo_."

Ziva smiled back up at her _husband. _

She actually...liked the sound of that.

_Whoa, Ziva. _She thought, _you are getting way ahead of yourself. Stop it. _

Her thoughts were interrupted when Tony pulled out her chair for her, allowing her to sit down before sitting in one of the empty ones. Paola set the hot dish of Italian food on the table, and then proceeded to serve it on each of the plates.

"I want more that that, moglie!" Giovanni said loudly, causing Tony and Ziva to chuckle. Paola pointed the metal spoon at him.

"No! You heard your doctor. You need to lower your colesterolo!"

Giovanni scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Abbassare il mio colesterolo. Che il medico non sa cosa sta parlando."

Paola put one hand on her hip and the other was being wiggled at her husband, "No, il medico ha sempre ragione. Si tratta di te, amore mio, che

sono sbagliate."

Tony laughed as he prepared to take a bite, switching back to english, "Granny is right, Papa." He struggled with the fork in his left hand, for his right hand was still wrapped up and in minor pain, "You need to stay healthy." He added.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "She never lets me have any fun, Anthony." As he tried to take a bite, the food fell off of his fork and onto the plate.

Paola walked over to her grandson and grabbed his right hand, "What happened, bambino?"

Tony sighed, quickly thinking of an excuse besides the real reason, wanting to kill Jason, "I uh, fell over one of Ziva's shoes, and tried to catch myself." Ziva used her eyes to look at him again, Tony grinned and turned to Ziva, "Typical of a wife, leaving her stuff everywhere." Ziva gaped and he laughed, using his finger to close her mouth, "Just kidding, sweetcheeks." Poala stroked his fractured hand softly and placed a kiss on it before returning to her seat. "Ah, it's ok Granny. Ziva's been taking _very_ good care of me."

"Yes, Anthony! I am furious with you! Why didn't you invite us to your wedding? We are important to you, no?"

Tony chuckled nervously, "Yes, Granny, you are important. But we didn't invite anybody." Paola nodded and turned to Ziva as she took a bite.

"So tell me, bello..." Ziva smiled. She didn't know much Italian, but she knew what that meant, "...when did you two marry?"

Ziva used her eyes to look over at Tony, "We were married on August 15." She smiled contently.

"Ah so you two are still newlyweds, I see." Paola replied. Tony reached over, grabbed Ziva's hand and nodded, the grin never leaving his face. It was quiet for a few seconds when Paola spoke again, "Where did you get married, love?"

Ziva gulped and chuckled slightly, for she and Tony should've rehearsed for questions like these, "We got married in DC." She finally said.

"So tell me, Anthony," Ziva closed her eyes and let out a silent sigh of relief as the older man switched to him for questions, "How did you two meet?"

Tony was rubbing his thumb on her hand, their fingers still intertwined under the table, "She started at NCIS a few years ago." He told them, "And asked me if I was having phone sex."

Now the older people looked confused, "Were you having this...phone sex, Anthony?" Giovanni asked, a slight smile on his face.

Tony chuckled, "No! Of course not. But I had just lost my partner, and somehow, she made me feel better." He turned to her and grinned, and she returned the smile.

That wasn't a lie.

That _definitely _wasn't a lie.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when another question was asked, "Where are you from?" Giovanni asked.

"I am from Tel Aviv, Israel." She told them, "But the US is my home now." She added.

"When am I going to have a great grandchild, Anthony?" Poala asked next. Tony chuckled and looked at Ziva.

"Not yet, Granny. We want to wait a few years."

"Ah, well, you must come back and visit us when you do, yes?"

Tony nodded, "Of course we will." He then pushed his plate away from him, "That was delicious, Gran." He said, still holding onto Ziva's hand as he stood, "I think we're going to...take a little walk. Out by the lake."

Paola nodded and stood, taking Tony and Ziva's plates with her to the small kitchen, "Very well." She said, and waved her hand at them, "Go on."

Tony walked ahead of Ziva out of the back door. They walked down hill and Tony wrapped his arm around her waist as they started around the pond. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Thank you for doing this."

She looked at him and smiled, "Your grandparents are great, Tony." She said.

"Yeah, they are." Tony agreed, "But they're officially your grandparents now too, Zi. You see, once you step into their house, you don't leave. So consider yourself a part of the family."

Ziva sighed, "That will be easy, since I do not have much of a family in Israel." Tony pulled her even closer

Giovanni and Poala walked onto the back porch, sitting in the two rocking chairs and watching the couple, "Do they remind you of anyone, amore mio?" Poala asked.

Giovanni reached over and grabbed her hand, "They were just like us when we were young." He said, and reached over and planted a kiss on her cheek.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After running errands for them, looking at young Anthony DiNozzo, and making a promise that when they had babies they were to return, Tony and Ziva walked out of the beautiful house and into the waiting cab. Tony kept her hand in his and leaned over, pressing a kiss on her lips. "Thank you, Ziva. It really meant a lot to them."

Ziva smiled and removed the rings off of her finger, "It was fun." She admitted.

Tony smiled down at the rings and looked back up at her, "Keep them."

She chuckled nervously, "Tony, no, they are yours. You should keep them."

"I want you to keep them, Ziva. As a thanks."

"There is no need to thank me, Tony. And we are not married." She reached for his hand and placed the rings in it.

He sighed and decided there was no need to argue as he pulled his wedding band off of his hand, placing all three rings in his pocket. He stared out the window and had a bright idea, "Hey, it's still early, we don't need to go back now." He then spoke some Italian to the cab driver, who turned around and went the opposite way.

Ziva was confused, "Where are we going?"

"To spend some time in La Città Eterna." Ziva nodded slowly and chuckled.

"You are going to be in trouble with Terri."

"Nah. Told her we'd be gone all day." The cab driver stopped the cab and Tony got out quickly, practically pulling Ziva along by her hand. "Ok, where to first?"

"I do not know." Ziva said, "I have been to Italy many times, but only on missions."

"Ah, well, Italy is a beautiful city, and it should be explored." He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked down the street. "There's the Colosseum, Castel Sant'Angelo, Catacombs, Capitoline Museums..."

He was stopped when Ziva's finger was over his lips, "Wherever you want to go, Tony, is just fine with me." She said and he smiled, looking down at his watch.

"Then lets hurry and get to the Colosseum before it closes." He said and started walking faster.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A couple of hours later, they walked out, Tony's arm never left from around Ziva's waist. The sun was setting, and the night air was becoming colder as they walked through the city when a man called, grabbing Tony's attention.

"You two are in love! Come take a ride with me."

Tony smiled and looked over at Ziva, who had her arms wrapped around herself, "No, that's ok. She's cold, I wanna get her back."

"I am fine, Tony." She said, "I would like to go on it."

He smiled at her as the man happily got on the gondola, "You sure, sweetcheeks?" Tony watched as Ziva past him and got into the boat, settling down in one of the seats. Tony sighed and sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. "We should come back here." Ziva looked at him, "When, of course, we're not chasing a terrorist and McGee's not watching us have sex."

Ziva chuckled, "Yes, I would like that."

Tony felt a chill run through him, "And in a decent hotel that has heat."

She raised and dropped one shoulder, "The showers are warm."

Tony couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, a chuckle escaping his lips. "Yes they are." He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, and she suddenly was warm again. Tony broke the kiss, only because the need for air was desperate, and reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring that Ziva wore as an 'engagement' ring. "I want you to wear it." He said softly, "Not as an engagement ring, but, just a ring. From me." He took her right hand and slid it on her ring finger before she had a chance to protest. "See?"

"You two are a beautiful couple." The gondola man said, and they both looked up at him, a slight smile on their faces.

"Thank you." Ziva said, and returned the kiss that was now being placed on her lips. She wrapped her arms around him and played with the base of his hair.

And for the first time in a long time, she realized something.

She was happy.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony and Ziva had really lost track of time.

They had wandered through the city, and by the time they had gotten back to the hotel, it was nearly midnight.

Tony glanced at his watch on his left hand as they rounded the corner, Ziva's hands shoved into the pocket of Tony's sweatshirt, "We're so dead." Tony laughed.

She turned and glanced at him, "I thought that you told Terri that we would be gone all day."

"Yeah, I did...all _day, _not night."

"Then why did we go out at all?" She demanded and he turned on her, abruptly, knocking her back in her step. The cool air nipped at her skin and she suppressed a shiver that threatened to run up and down her spine.

"Because I wanted to spend time with you." He muttered under his breath, "Make up."

She paused, no expression on her face before a small, slack smile formed, "We _did-" _She moved towards him, "-make up, Tony."

He let his famous smile stretch on his face as he nodded, "Yeah, we did. But we won't be able to do that if we don't get back up to the FBI team."

She nodded slowly and gestured towards the hotel that was now in their view, "Let's go." She quietly said, moving them forward.

They slipped into the hotel, bid goodnight to the hotel staff, and then hurried up the stairs, making sure that they stayed quiet, in order not to awake the sleeping federal agents that were already there.

Tony fumbled with the key in his pocket, hurrying to open up the door, Ziva all but pressing up against his back, when he heard a voice from behind him, "Where the _hell _have you two been?"

Tony turned around so quickly, he nearly knocked Ziva over as she, too, turned around to come face to face with FBI Special Agent Jason Scott.

"We..." Ziva started, but was cut off by Tony.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"'Cause Russell and Terri took your shifts today. And I wanted to know where the hell you two were and why you weren't there. Terri told me you guys took off this morning."

"Look, Scotty, we were just-" Tony started, but Jason stopped.

"With me. Now."

"I'm not going anywhere with-" Tony started, once again, but was cut off by Ziva's elbow in his stomach.

"Give me a key, DiNozzo."

"A key?" He questioned and Jason rolled his eyes.

"To your room, idiot."

Tony groaned and shared a look with Ziva before sticking the key into the lock and turning it, opening it up, "Get in." He urged them on and they just furrowed their eyebrows together as they entered the room, "I'll be right back." He said as he closed the door in front of them.

Tony and Ziva just stared at each other, "This is extremely odd." Ziva commented as she took a seat on the bed.

"I agree." Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I feel like I'm about to be interrogated." he glanced at her, "Not a good feeling."

She sat cross-legged on the bed, picking at her nails as she looked down in the darkness, "They are upset. Just like you said." She admitted as Tony placed a hand on her thigh, running it up and down it, keeping her slightly warmer.

"I'm not afraid of them. I mean...come on...Jason?" He laughed.

She shrugged, "You do not have a very strong right wrist." She pointed out.

"I doubt he's gonna _fight _me, Ziva."

"He would be extremely stupid to do that." she admitted.

"So maybe he will." He grinned just as the door opened.

Tony removed his hand from Ziva's thigh and let his eyes match Jason's as he, Terri, and Russell entered the room, silently closing the door behind him.

They didn't bother to turn on the light as Jason took the incentive to go 'first'. He moved towards the two, clasping his hands behind his back in a military stance, both Russell and Terri behind him, their arms crossed and glaring at the two. Jason stopped in front of them, staring down, "Now I'm gonna ask you one more time." he paused, "Where the _hell _did you two go?"

Tony and Ziva just looked at each other, Tony desperately trying to think of another lie before Ziva spoke up, "We went out." She finally said, confidently.

"Where?" Terri interjected, quickly.

"You know!" Tony accused and Ziva pretended to ignore him.

"To visit Tony's grandparents." She answered, politely. She figured that the easier and faster they answered the questions, the more alone time they could have together.

"What?" Jason demanded, "Are you serious? You ditched us to visit some old, Italian, raisins?"

Tony narrowed his eyes at him, "They're still my grandparents."

"Oh sorry..." Jason feigned that he was scared, "You're a 'grandparents' boy!"

Ziva locked eyes with Tony and spoke with her eyes, "So you spent your day with your grandparents?" Russell spoke up and Tony and Ziva both nodded.

"I freaking _told _Terri where we were going, what the hell is you guys' problem?" Tony demanded.

The three looked at each other before looking back at the two, "You're hiding something." Terri finally said, "And we've been trying to figure out what it is the entire day."

"And?" Tony prompted.

"We have no idea." Russell admitted.

"But you need to tell." Terri said, "Now. Or else you two are gonna have to go back to DC."

"Why?"

"Because we can't trust you. If you won't tell us..."

"I promise you, it is not that big of a deal." Ziva sighed, straightening up and trying not to look nervous. She didn't exactly want the FBI team to know that she and Tony were dating and already completely head over heels for each other in just a matter of hours.

Jason turned around and the three were in a small huddle, Tony taking the moment to carefully wrap an arm around her waist and run his hand up her sweatshirt, rubbing the soft skin there. She turned to look at him as he pulled her closer, her eyes becoming more prominent through the darkness.

He didn't even notice that Jason had turned around, or that Terri did, or that Russell did.

In fact, he didn't even notice that the three FBI agents were staring at them until Jason spoke, "You're freaking together."

The two jumped away as if the other was a hot plate, Ziva shoving her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt. Ziva looked down at her lap as Jason ran a hand through his hair, turning slightly in a circle before walking behind Russell and pacing there, "Damn it." Jason muttered as Terri tried desperately to keep the smile off of her face.

"I did not know that you were going to be gone that late." She smiled and then watched as Jason started out of the room.

"Going to bed! Alone!" he shouted over his shoulder as they heard the door across the hallway slam.

Russell just rolled his eyes, "Can I go now, Ter?"

She nodded, "Sure."

"Thank goodness." Russell sighed as he left the bedroom, leaving Tony and Ziva with Terri.

She smiled at them, "Congratulations, you two."

Ziva just gave her a small smile, "Yeah, what the hell was that about?" Tony demanded, cutting in.

She sighed, "Jason doesn't like when he has competition for 'Alpha Male' status. And you're majorly cutting into his title. He thought he could find something to cut you down with, but he really just found someone that cut _him." _She glanced at Ziva and then back at Tony, pointedly.

"Ah." Tony grinned, "Well...that's just what I do." He boasted and Ziva rolled her eyes.

"I would like the details." Terri gestured to Ziva as Tony stood up and moved to the dresser, unbuttoning his dress shirt after pulling his sweater off over his head.

"I will tell you tomorrow when we have a shift. Do you have the night shift?"

She nodded, "Unfortunately. With Jason. Which means that I have to drag him out of bed to do it."

She smiled sadly at her, "Good luck."

"Goodnight, you two." Terri waved to them as she exited the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Tony turned on the light next to the bed as Ziva stood up, grabbing her sweatpants...actually...Tony's sweatpants that he let her borrow off of the floor. She changed quickly, exchanging the shirt underneath Tony's sweatshirt for a t-shirt and then crawled into bed.

Tony just stared at her, "Sleeping with me again, eh, sweetcheeks?" He started to crawl into bed next to her, "Can't resist me, huh?"

She just rolled her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him so that her chest was flush against his own, "It is just warmer in here."

He laughed, "Make up all the excuses you want. You're crazy about me. And I mean, who can blame you?"

She just shook her head and buried her face deeper into his chest.

He was right.

Who _could _blame her?

* * *

"What the hell is that noise?" Tony muttered into Ziva's hair, his groggy voice filled with annoyance.

The loud rapping of knuckles on the door continued and Tony tightened his arms around her, "Someone is at the door." She murmured into his chest, not bothering to open her eyes.

He groaned and shifted his grip, causing Ziva to move as well. She wrapped her legs around his in an attempt to hold onto him, "You open it." He said into her hair and she shook her head against his chest.

"_You _get it, Tony..." She yawned.

"Ugh..." Tony groaned and then rested his head on top of Ziva's, "Go away!" he shouted as he smiled to himself, moving back to his original position, trying to fall back asleep.

"DiNozzo, David, open the door up, we've got an emergency." Terri's voice came through the door and Tony groaned.

"What?" Tony shouted and Ziva let out the largest, most annoyed groan of them all as she shimmied out of Tony's grip and out of the bed, her feet hitting the cold floor underneath her. She crossed the floor and opened the door, rubbing her eyes, "What?" She repeated.

"Corrado received a late night visitor. Jason's following him, but they're got a disturbance."

Tony had stood up and joined the two women at the door, stifling a yawn, "What kind of disturbance besides something passing through his intestines?"

Ziva rolled her eyes as Terri continued, "Corrado might be onto him."

Tony's eyes got wide as he shared a look with Ziva and then glanced back at Terri, "That means he knows that two of us are feds. He's gonna make the connection with the rest of us."

She nodded, "I know. It is only a matter of time."

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Tony questioned and Terri sighed.

"The only thing we can do." She admitted, "Sit around and wait for something to happen."

"Does he have any backup?" Ziva questioned and Terri shook her head.

"No, Jace _insisted _that he do it himself."

Tony groaned, "Idiot." He took Ziva's hand carefully in his, "Come on, Zi, let's grab our guns and let's go after him."

"He might have a gun." Terri warned, "He is meeting someone."

"We're trained federal agents, Terri, just like you," Tony pointed out, "We shouldn't be afraid if someone has a gun or not. Jason might be a complete ass, but I would hate to go home with a dead body in the backseat of the airplane, okay? That isn't Corrado's." He emphasized.

His hand still in Ziva's, they started quickly down the hallway, Ziva grabbing the keys to the car off of the dresser.

Just in case.

* * *

"Okay, we've got a visual." Tony confirmed, lagging behind Jason as much as he could. Jason pretended to be talking on the phone as he followed Corrado through the nearly empty streets of Rome. At least, in the section they were in.

At around three in the morning.

With the rain falling down, steadily, heavily. Tony and Ziva had to squint through the rain in order to see Jason and Corrado.

The only other people out were drunk ones that stumbled out of buildings, couples from night clubs, and just...couples.

Tony and Ziva fit in perfectly.

Jason on the other hand...didn't.

At all.

They watched as Corrado started down another street, Jason following him down the side road. Tony and Ziva hurried to catch up, moving at the same speed and pace as they slowed near the entrance, back to a normal walk. Using her peripheral vision, Ziva glanced down the road.

"I know you're following me." Corrado suddenly said, and Tony and Ziva stopped, Tony pulling Ziva back behind the wall.

Jason paused, "What are you talking about?" He chuckled, "I wanna visit my friend, and this is where he lives. I am sorry that you are going the same direction I am."

"Liar." Corrado snarled, "You're a cop."

"A _cop?" _Jason laughed, "I'm definitely not a cop."

A federal agent?

Yes.

Cop?

No.

"Yes you are. Now..." Corrado reached into his jacket, "I suggest that you back away." Jason came face to face with a gun and it was only then that he realized just how much he needed backup. He didn't even have a gun on him.

Stupid move on his part.

Trying to be too much of an alpha male, he guessed. Take the responsibility.

Impress Terri.

Before he knew it, a shot was fired and he ducked to the ground on instinct, even though his mind wasn't thinking at the moment.

Tony barely had a chance to stop Ziva as she slipped from his side, a gun suddenly in her hands as she rounded the corner, running as fast as she could possibly move.

He didn't have time to react, much less think about stopping her.

"ZIVA!" Tony shouted as he rounded the corner, the numbness finally gone from his feet. Jason was pulling himself off of the ground, dusting himself off as Tony looked around, "Where the hell is Ziva?" He demanded as he yanked Jason up by the arm.

"How am I supposed to know?" He demanded, the rain dripping down his face. He wiped it away with the back of his hand.

"Damn it." He muttered as Tony heard a couple of shots being fired. His heart rate kicked into overdrive as he shot like a bullet down the alley, picking up the pace as he did so, his feet sloshing and slapping against the puddles on the ground that were forming quickly.

He rounded another building, reaching the main road nearly instantly. He looked both ways before he heard the sound of tires squealing on the pavement, the black sedan racing down the street. It ran over a curb as it pulled out of a building. Heading in that direction, he ran solely on adrenaline running through his veins before he stopped, another car joining the sedan on the road.

This one he recognized, all over.

One, it was the car they had rented.

Two, it was Ziva's driving.

Definitely.

"SHIT!" Tony shouted into the rain, "ZIVA!" He heard footsteps behind him as Jason finally caught up to him, "I need the keys to the other car." Tony demanded, and when Jason didn't respond immediately, Tony raised his voice, "NOW!"

"They're inside! With Terri! What, your girlfriend go after Corrado?" He tried to joke.

"By herself, without any adequate backup, yes, she did, DAMN IT!" He broke into an all out sprint back to the hotel, Jason following him, "I can't even imagine what Gibbs is gonna think." Tony muttered under his breath as he entered the hotel.

He was dead.

And so was Ziva.

If Corrado didn't get to her first.

* * *

Tony entered the watch room as quickly as possible, shutting the door behind him, "Where are the keys?" Tony demanded, causing Terri to jump slightly.

"What?"

"Where!" he shouted again, "Are. The. KEYS?"

"To the car?"

"No." Tony sarcastically spat, "To the Pope's safe, no of COURSE to the car!"

She dug into her pocket and pulled them out, chucking them at him, "Why?"

She, however, didn't receive a response as she watched Tony run out of the watch room, leaving behind a trail of rain as he ran.

* * *

Tony couldn't have started the car fast enough.

He had to put the windshield wipers on the highest setting, and he hadn't even started going anywhere yet.

Everyone who had half a brain in Italy knew that it was stupid to go out onto the road when it was this wet.

He glanced down at his watch and determined the time.

It had been about five to ten minutes since Ziva had taken off after what he presumed to be Corrado. That would be the only truly logical guess in the entire situation.

Knowing her driving on streets such as this, ones that were similar to the ones that she learned how to drive on, she could possibly be on the other side of the city by this point.

Sighing, he sped out of the space the car was parked in, nearly skidding into something by the lack of friction underneath the tires. Naturally, he slammed onto the brakes, but then realized that it was just the pavement, so he, again, jolted down the street.

It was dark outside, and one thing went through his mind: how in the world was he going to be able to find Ziva?

* * *

The car, which was a smaller, compact car that was slightly larger than her Mini, carried Ziva David down the road, after she had literally flown over a speed bump.

And ran two stop lights.

As much as she wanted to stay there, in Italy, with Tony, she would have much rather be back home in DC with heat and the ability to be...alone.

Ziva David was determined to catch Corrado, stop him in his tracks, interrogate him until she was able to get the answer she wanted, and needed, to go _home. _

Home.

Oh, she missed it.

Truly, she did.

Deciding that she needed to keep her mind solely on Corrado and not on _home, _she sped through the rain, the black car just barely staying in her eye sight. She pushed down the accelerator, even though it was going as fast as it could possibly go.

Damn sports car...

Corrado had a nice car, Ziva had to admit that.

It could definitely go faster than the normal, rental engine she had in the car she was driving at the moment. Even with the windshield wipers going as fast as they could, the road was still blurry for her, the rain hitting the windshield at a great amount of velocity.

What she was going to do when she finally caught up to him, she didn't honestly know.

Probably ram him in the back and then take him at gun point.

Demand to know _why _he was here.

Demand to know _where _his terrorist cell was set up.

Demand to know _why _she wasn't back home.

Catching up to Corrado, she smiled to herself, trying to desperately for the car to go faster and slam into the rear end of him. She pushed down on the accelerator, but the car revved back angry words to her instead.

She gritted her teeth together and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

Because it was raining, the roads were poor, and she barely had time to register the fact that Corrado had just turned down another road.

Panicking and acting on instinct, she turned the car abruptly to the left, and everything happened too fast after that.

She didn't see the guard rail that was set up on the side of the road, much less determine that there was way too much water on the road for her to efficiently and effectively, and _safely_ take a turn like that.

She heard the painful screech of tires on the road before the crumpling sound of metal against the guard posts, sparks flying up through the rain as the car was 'thrown' back onto the road. Due to the momentum, the car landed on its side before rolling once, the passenger side of the car flush against the ground, the wheels of the car still slightly turning as water dripped through the broken glass.

In the back seat of the car, Ziva David lay slump over, wedged between the passenger seat and the backseat, a long cut running down her face as she slowly lost consciousness.

* * *

Tony DiNozzo officially hated rain.

He could barely see a thing as he tried to navigate through the streets.

He had already called Ziva's phone too many times to count, but she hadn't bothered to pick it up.

Tony had already suspected this, however, since she _was _in, what he called in, 'case mode'.

It was simple for her to get into that mind set, but it was nearly impossible for her to get _out _of it. It sometimes took her even days, much less hours.

The streets were desolate, not a soul in sight.

Tony couldn't really blame them though.

I mean, it was _pouring._

Tony hadn't witnessed this type of rain since last April in DC. He remembered that day clearly; he had to chase a man that had committed a serial killing through the woods. McGee had fallen in a pile of mud. Oh, how he got the teasing about that one.

Tony had finally stopped after Ziva had pleaded for him to.

And he ran out of jokes.

Or nicknames.

Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, he turned down another street, realizing that it was a dead end. Cursing to himself, backed the car up and turned it around.

"Where the hell'd you go, Ziva?" He muttered to himself as he drove off.

Driving down another road, this time turning right instead of left like he had before, he found nothing. Again.

Tony was getting slightly annoyed with himself, and he _needed _to reach Ziva. He grabbed his cell and opened it up, holding his finger over the number two speed dial. He sighed, realizing that it was probably a stupid idea, and threw the phone down onto the passenger's seat.

After about another ten minutes of agonizing driving, Tony had nearly given up.

That was, until something caught his eye as he drove past an entrance to another street, that led away from the city. Tony slammed the brakes of the car, causing water to rush up and onto the windshield.

Switching the car into reverse, he backed up quickly, the tires almost skidding as he slammed to a stop.

Squinting through the rain that was running down the windows, he was able to determine that...

He stopped, his heart skipping a beat.

He shoved the gear shift back into drive as he moved the car towards the one that was on its side, looking horribly beat up, as if there had been a serious accident.

As he got closer to the car, he slammed on the brakes.

The car stopped.

His heart stopped.

He only had one thing to say, "ZIVA!"

He suddenly heard nothing...the rain wasn't pounding in his ears anymore.

Jumping out of the car, that was the only way to explain his movement, Tony hurried towards the car, ignoring the rain that was soaking him. He first checked around to the driver's side door, since that was the side of the car that was right side up.

All but peeling the door off of the car, he realized one thing; no driver.

Tony was worried.

This was _definitely _Ziva's car.

He sighed and, through the darkness of the night, or, at this point, early morning, and the rain that was dripping down, he barely could recognize the foot that was in what looked to be a painful position, for it was shoved between the arm rest and the actual seat itself, "Ziva?" He questioned through the rain that vibrated off of the metal of the car.

He didn't receive a response, and he shoved his torso into the car, trying to see that she was actually there.

In one piece.

"Ziva?" he questioned again, trying to remain clam.

He received a groan in response, and Tony felt some of the chains that hadd been on his heart release, but he wondered about her physical condition. Grabbing onto the bottom of the steering wheel, or, at least, that's what he thought it was, Tony pushed himself into the car, placing one foot on the driver's side seat and the other on the passenger's side seat.

He put his head between the two seats, staring at the woman who laid there, helpless. Her eyes were closed, but they opened when she felt his eyes on hers, turning her head slightly to the side, "Tony?" She questioned, groggily, a rushing sensation running through her head. She placed a hand on her forehead, feeling the hot, stciky substance that was her blood there.

"Ziva..." He let out, almost in a sigh of relief.

Her entire body felt like...well...to be honest...crap. She could barely feel most parts of her body, but she was never going to admit that to Tony. The world started to spin and her vision became blurry for a second or two bfore returning back to its normal vision.

"Can I get back there?" Tony questioned and Ziva just nodded her head, but she knew that Tony didn't need her permission. And he probably didn't even see her nod in the first place, for she barely recognized her own self doing it.

He supported hismelf and positioned himself right over Ziva, staring down at her through the darkness. He grabbed her arms and wrapped them around his neck, pulling her up as much as he could.

"You okay?" He questioned, "Anything broken?"

She shook her head as Tony meandured through the small space between the back seat and the front seat. He tugged on Ziva's body, as if he was forcing her out and through the hole, "Okay, I'm gonna have to let go of you for a moment." He informed her.

She responded with a nod.

Letting go of her, she leaned up against the seat, trying her best to keep her balance. Tony shifted through the open driver's side door before reaching down and grabbing Ziva's hands, "Come on, let's go." He whispered and she didn't respond. All she did was nod.

He let out a huff as he pulled her up out of the car, the rain hitting her, washing away the oozing cut on her face as well as the obvious bruises that were threatening to form on her arms and legs. He barely let her stand on the ground before he wrapped his arms tightly around her, picking her up and spinning her around in a circle. He pressed multiple kisses up against the side of her face, "God, you scared me so much." He whispered, wrapped his arms, if possible, tighter around her, "So very much. When I opened the door..." He whispered into her ear, "And you weren't there..." All she did to respond was to wrap her arms tighter around him.

Keeping her suspended in the air, he stared deep into her eyes, pulling her back so he could look at her, "I am fine." She mumbled, her words slurring.

Tony didn't seem to notice, however, because he was mainly just happy she was actually alive, "Never do that to me again, what were you thinking?"

"What?" She questioned, unsure of what he said.

"What were you thinking?" he repeated, his voice softer yet stronger this time.

"I was thinking how much I enjoy being alive." She smiled, "And that I almost lost everything in a matter of seconds because of a stupid mistake." She finally managed to say.

"I'm just happy you're alive." He grinned, "Oh, I thought I lost you..."

"But you did not." She confirmed.

"I did not." he nodded, pecking her gently on the lips, "I did not..."

Even through the confusion, Ziva assessed her surroundings and the situation she was currently in. She was in Tony's arms, and it was obviously that her car accident had upset him. Deeply. It was pouring rain outside, and she rembered one thing...the way that Tony thinks is the most romantic way to kiss.

Smiling, slightly, groggily, she placed one hand on each side of his face and then pressed her lips up against his, tugging gently as to gain access to his mouth. She felt his lips turn up in a smile underneath her own as he ran his tongue over the bottom of her lip, begging for the entrance that she was willingly going to give to him. Tony ran his hand up her back, in an attempt to keep her body against his. He leaned back slightly, again, in an attempt to keep her body against his.

The water from the rain dripped down his and Ziva's faces, Tony tasting Ziva's toothpaste as well as rain water. The two, unwillingly, broke because of their desperate need for air, and they rested their foreheads against each others, the rain pouring down their faces, both of their hair completely wet, the clothes sticking to their bodies.

They smiled at each other before Tony finally let Ziva down onto the ground, kissing her once more before pulling her closely to himself.

He looked at the car that was in ruins next to them and then looked at Ziva, "Well hey...you found a new enemy today." He smiled, kissing the crown of her head, "The rental car company."


	8. Flames

**Hey guys! First, another thank you to the reviewers, you guys are awesome! :) Next, sorry for the update delay, but we're both super busy, and we're trying our best! And lastly, this chapter is action-packed, and again, it gets a little steamy at the end, so it mayyy be a bit on the mature side. But we hope you enjoy, and don't forget to leave us one! **

Ziva David would never admit it, but she was feeling pretty...awful at the moment.

And it wasn't because she was soaked in rain water.

In fact, she wasn't even in the rain anymore.

Instead, she was in the hospital, completely and utterly annoyed at the fact that she was there. All she wanted to do was to go to sleep, but if there was one thing that she hated, it was going to sleep in a hospital.

There was just something that wasn't...right.

She didn't know what it was either.

She laid down onto the bed, closing her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling.

Tony had all but forced her into his rental car, telling her that she needed to go to the hospital.

Ziva had only agreed if he got his wrist checked out.

The doctor had agreed to deal with him first, but he had taken about three hours considering that amount of paperwork he had to complete considering that he was a United States Citizen and not an Italian Citizen.

All she wanted was Tony there, beside, her, just so that she could watch his smiling face.

She felt...odd. She had never felt this way before.

Felt this way about another _man _before.

She closed her eyes and prayed for sleep to take her.

She didn't care if the doctor said she wasn't allowed to go to sleep.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony paced outside of the door to Ziva's room, waiting for the FBI team to get there. It was currently around 0330h at night, though, technically, at this point, it was actually morning.

Terri had to call a cab, considering that Tony took the only car that they had left to the hospital with Ziva. Russell had to deal with the car company, trying to get another rental car in order for them, which Tony would have to pick up in the morning.

After he explained what happened with the car that Ziva totaled.

Tony really wasn't looking forward to that conversation at all.

After a couple of more agonizing minutes, Terri, Russell, and Jason joined him in the waiting room, sitting down in the chair as Terri took the moment to approach him, "Tony..." She started.

"Yeah?"

"How is she?" She finally asked, and Tony looked at the double doors that led to the room that Ziva was staying in before turning and looking back at her.

"I don't know. They haven't come back out with her status. She was pretty delusional when I brought her in though."

She nodded, "Okay, Tony, listen." She took in a deep breath, glanced back at her two partners, and then turned back to Tony, who was raising his eyebrow up, "I had to contact NCIS, inform them of Ziva's condition."

"What did they say?"

"Agent Gibbs wants you to contact him ASAP."

He sighed and ran his hand, which was now in a brace, through his hair, "Damn it, I'm not looking forward to that conversation."

"I'm sorry." She sincerely said, "But it was protocol and..."

He shook his head, "I understand. I guess it's better he's prepared."

Terri offered Tony a seat next to her, which he graciously took, but decided that he had had enough after another at least twenty minutes of waiting. He was just about to storm up to the nurse's station and demand to see Ziva David when the doors opened, revealing an extremely italian doctor with a clipboard in his hands. He looked down at it, "Ziva David?"

Tony all but bolted out of the seat, running towards him and stopping abruptly, "Yeah, Ziva."

He eyed him, "Are you family?" He noticed Tony's pause, "Family only."

Tony had to see Ziva.

He _had _to.

He wouldn't be able to pass as her father or her brother (thank god), which means he'd have to pass as her husband. But he didn't have...his brain suddenly kicked into gear as he remembered the ring he had in his pocket, still from the visit to his grandparents house. He placed his left hand into his pocket and slipped it on, "I'm her husband." He nodded and the doctor eyed him, obviously wanting proof.

Tony rolled his eyes and held up his left hand, "Happy now?"

The doctor just glared at him before pushing the doors open, "Come with me. She is in room 207." Tony nodded, "I am Doctor Botticelli."

"Tony." He shook his outstretched hand before dropping it, "How is she?"

"She sustained some bruises, mainly on her thighs and arms. There was not much other damage, no broken bones or fractures, but she did suffer a mild concussion from when her head hit the side of the car, on the way down." Tony shuddered at the thought.

"Concussion?" Tony repeated.

"Yes." He confirmed, "We were able to deduce that she was not wearing a seatbelt when the accident happened."

"How'd you manage to do that?"

"There would have been whiplash on her neck." He explained, "And she would not have ended up in the backseat of the car." He flipped a page of notes as they avoided another doctor hurrying down the hall, "She needs to take it easy the next couple of days." The doctor explained, "Make sure that she gets plenty of rest and does not sustain any more head injuries."

"How long?"

"I would say around two to three days, but it will take her around a week to be back to normal."

Tony sighed, running his hand through his hair again. This definitely wasn't good for the mission. Corrado already knew that Tony and Jason were cops, and he figured that Ziva was just...with Tony. But now their ninja wasn't allowed to go out onto the field? That left a computer geek and a woman that, compared to Ziva, was mince meat, "Here is her room." He explained, "I will just need you to sign some more paperwork, and then you will be allowed to take her home."

Tony nodded, "Thanks, Doc."

The doctor just walked away and let Tony walk into Ziva's room, where she was just laying there, wide eyed, staring up at the ceiling. He closed the door behind him and carefully approached her, "Hey." He whispered and she turned and looked at him, a smile pulling at her lips.

"Hey." She smiled back, "Is your wrist okay?"

He laughed and brushed her hair back, his thumb gently running over a cut that was there. She shivered under his touch and he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, "Stop worrying about me...how are you feeling?"

She rolled her eyes, "I am _fine, _Tony."

"If you got run over by a truck, you would say you were fine." He sarcastically said and she just stared at him, "So answer me truthfully."

"I am extremely tired." She admitted.

"Well once I finish the paperwork, they'll release you."

"Then why are you here?" She demanded, "Go and sign that paperwork! Do you not know how much I hate hospitals?" She sat up quickly in bed.

He smiled, "You know, I could just refuse to sign the paperwork... then I-" He watched as her eyes suddenly became extremely dilated, and she seemed to be... losing control, "Ziva?" He asked, quickly, gripping her arm tightly.

"I... do not feel very good." The world was spinning and she suddenly felt extremely faint.

"Just lay down, sweetheart." He cooed, "Lay down."

He helped her lay down, trying to relax her tense muscles, "Just relax...don't go to sleep, just...relax. Here, I'll get you a wet towel for your head. Maybe that'll help." He turned and walked towards the sink, taking a wad of paper towels and wetting them before squeezing out the excess water.

He was extremely concerned.

He had never seen Ziva act this way before. He returned to her, her eyes struggling to stay open, as if she hadn't slept in days. He placed the towel on her forehead and stared into her eyes, "Ziva-" He started, but she cut him off with a whisper.

"Just...go and sign those papers."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Tony..." She looked him deep the eyes, a sound of desperation and lack of hope, something he'd never heard from her, spilling out of her mouth, "...please." Her pleading voice made him leave her side.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony groaned, "_Another _form?" He sighed as he looked over the long list of...well...it was nonsense to him. The nurse just smiled at him.

"Four more." She said, in Italian and Tony quickly skimmed over it, finding the place for his signature easily. He signed his name, which was becoming a scribble now thanks to the numerous times he had to sign it.

Tony moved onto another form, trying to figure out what he had to do before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he checked the caller ID: Gibbs.

Sighing, he knew that if he didn't pick up the phone, he'd be in big trouble.

He didn't damn well care that he was in a hospital, and he opened it up anyways, "Yeah, DiNozzo."

"_DiNozzo..._" Gibbs started, "_How's Ziva?" _

Tony sighed, "She's fine, boss. Sustained a couple of bruises, the doctor said she suffered a mild concussion. Needs to take a break from field work for a couple of days, but she won't fully recover for about a week."

Tony could almost hear Gibbs nod over the phone, "_I see. You need me to send another agent over there? Send Ziva back home so she can take it easy?" _

Tony's heart dropped at the thought, "No, no, no, boss, it's fine-" he stopped as he realized just how fast he was speaking. He attempted to calm himself down and speak more slowly, "I mean...Ziva should be fine, she's a strong girl-woman." He corrected himself, "Strong woman."

_"I know that." _He slowly said, "_When did this happen? Why did it happen?" _

"Jason-I mean, Agent Scott was following Corrado, Corrado turned on him, accused him of following him and being a cop. Corrado took a shot at Agent Scott, Ziva chased after him. It was raining, the car chase ended in a turn Ziva took too quickly."

Gibbs sighed, "_Fine, DiNozzo, I'll let her stay there. But if she gets into anymore trouble, I'm going to hope that you have enough responsibility and knowledge in your head to send her on the next flight back to DC." _

Tony ran a hand through his hair and then dropped it, looking at the brace that was there. He shook his head. He wasn't gonna tell Gibbs about his...altercation with Jason, "You have my word."

_"Good. Now go to bed. You both need your sleep." _

Tony sighed, "Yes, boss. Goodnight."

He was treated with a dial tone.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony woke up early the next morning, slipping out of the bed that he and Ziva shared and dressing quickly. He paused as he finished fixing his hair, turning around and leaning up against the dresser, staring at Ziva.

She was in almost a fetal position, laying on her side, towards where Tony had just been, the blankets wrapped tightly around her in a cocoon. She had been freezing last night, and he had thrown his extra clothes on top of her, in an attempt to keep her warm. He also brought the blanket from her bed over. He thought that she might be coming down with something, but he wasn't entirely too sure.

He crossed the floor and laid down silently on the bed, on his side, his head resting on his arm, staring at her as she slept. He took in the bandage that had been placed over the small cut on the side of her head, and he couldn't help but lift a finger up and trace his thumb numbly over it. He heard a small grunt come from her, even though he found it completely adorable, and she scrunched her face up, pulling the covers tighter around her in her sleep.

He dropped his thumb to her shoulder, running his hand lightly, gently, over her body, letting his palm stop at her hip, dipping his hand under her shirt, feeling the skin underneath.

It only took her seconds to flutter her eyes open and look at him, yawning as she smiled, "Shalom." She whispered.

"Morning." He smiled back, rubbing her skin with his thumb, "Sleep well?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"I have to go to the rental car place today." He sighed, staring deep into her eyes, "Get a new car...explain to them what happened to the old car..."

He felt her small hands wrap around his waist, pulling herself to him as she rested her head on his chest, "I am sorry, Tony..."

He shook his head on top of hers, "I'll live." He grinned.

Ziva sighed and looked into his eyes, "I want to go with you." She quietly said.

He, once again, shook his head, "No, sweetcheeks. You stay here. You rest. You had a long day yesterday, you need it. Besides, the doctor said that you need to rest for a couple of days."

Ziva groaned, "Tony, I do not want to be stuck in this bed all day."

"Ziva...listen to the doctor's orders for once, okay?"

She shook her head negatively, "It will just be for a little while...then I promise that I will come back and rest. I have a shift with Terri anyways."

Tony, realizing that he had lost this battle a while ago, sighed, and shook his head, "You owe me one big time, Ziva David."

She smiled as she sat up in bed, bringing Tony with her, "Fine." She smiled, "Let me get changed and then we will be off, yes?" She pecked him lightly on the cheek as she crawled over him and out of bed.

Tony relaxed as he watched her start to strip in front of him, putting his hands behind his head as he watched her pull the shirt off, revealing her perfectly toned and muscled back to him, "Oh...take your time, sweetheart." He smiled and she turned slightly towards him, looking over her shoulder, glaring.

"It is _cold, _Tony. I am getting changed as quickly as possible."

He laughed, "I wasn't talking about that."

She raised an eyebrow as she turned around completely, her bare chest staring at him as she put her hands on her hips, allowing her breasts to protrude even further out, "Then what _are _you talking about?"

"I was...uh..." He was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything but her chest, "...uh..well you see...I just don't..." He took in a deep breath, "Okay, can you put a shirt on first or something?"

She rolled her eyes as she slipped on her bra and then one of her shirts before putting on Tony's sweatshirt, "What?"

"I just don't want to go to the rental place." He finally said, realizing that he could now breath without being restricted, and speak in full sentences.

She rolled her eyes as she finished getting dressed, Tony then sighing as he stood up, taking her by the hand as he led her out of his bedroom, crossing the hall and banging on Jason's door. He didn't even bother waiting for him to answer; he just shouted, "Hey! We're gonna go and deal with that car situation now! Ziva and I will be back _later!" _

Ziva just stood there, being the faithful, loyal girlfriend that she was before she let him take the lead. He all but dragged her away, Ziva catching up to his pace by the time they got to the stairs, "I'm not looking forward to this." Tony admitted.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Well I am the one that crashed the car."

He sighed, "Let's just get this over with. We both have to deal with them."

Ziva nodded as they started their walk towards the last rental car they had with them, "We might want to get another." Tony suggested, "Just in case."

She shrugged, once again, and then opened up the passengers side of the car, "Like you said...let's just get this over with."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony allowed Ziva to walk in first, opening the door open for her. She thanked him by nodding her head before they both shared a look of deep concern and then started towards the counter, _"Ciao, will you be returning your car today, sir?" _She asked, in Italian.

Ziva looked at Tony, hoping for a translation. All she understood was 'Ciao, today, sir, and car'.

"Hi," Tony grinned his famous DiNozzo grin, "You speak English?"

She paused a moment, as if she was trying to remember, and then spoke again, "Yes." She responded, her voice still a heavy Italian accent.

"Good." He sighed and shared a look with Ziva before leaning on the counter with two hands, "Look..." He started, "My...girlfriend...see...she was kinda going down the street last night, and it was dark. I mean...dark, as you know, and raining." She just stared at him and he continued, "She realized she was supposed to turn down a road and then turned...but she turned to quickly, completely totaled the car." The woman's eyes grew wide and then angry with fury. So angry, it was almost coated with red.

Ziva noticed this and reached down, grabbing one of Tony's hands in his, scooting closer to him as she squeezed it in reassurance. Tony squeezed it back and then continued, "Look, we know we're gonna have to pay for this, but-"

Tony didn't get a chance to finish.

The woman was screaming at him, that was the only word for it, her face turning a bright tomato red as Tony just stood there, in shock. She started blabbering on in Italian, but when she pointed towards Ziva, Ziva was the one that was surprised as Tony slammed his hand down onto the counter, "Hey!" he shouted, "No! You're getting us a new car. We'll pay for it, but on the government's money." he reached into his pocket and flipped out his badge, "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. This is my partner Officer David....also known as my _girlfriend. _We're here on a mission. The car was part of that mission. If you don't comply and get us a new one, I will issue a warrant for your arrest, and then keep you in our custody for 48 hours without cause. Now what do you think? Car or jail time?"

Tony's response was a pair of keys before the woman fled the building.

Tony grinned as he looked down at them, picking them up happily as he swung an arm over Ziva's shoulder, squeezing her to him, "Well...I take that back...that was easy. And fun." He took in a deep breath, puffing out his chest, "Empowering."

She rolled her eyes as they stepped outside, Tony handing her the keys to the car they drove to the rental place, "Oh yes, that was extremely amusing." She rolled her eyes again as she took the keys from his hands.

"Hey, just don't take anymore turns like that again, ninja girl, okay?"

She smiled as she turned towards him, grabbing onto his tie and leaning up and pecking him on the lips, "I promise I will not...my love." She pulled back from him, running her hands down his chest and winking suggestively as she strutted back towards the car. As she got in and drove off, Tony licked his lips and then got into the new car, smiling at how lucky he was to have someone like her as his girlfriend.

As his lover.

He drove back faster.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once back at the crap shack, Tony and Ziva walked back up to _their_ room, her hand in his, their fingers intertwined. Tony walked in and sat down on the bed, pulling her down with him, placing a kiss on her lips. He lay his head on her shoulder, "So what do you wanna do now?"

Ziva chuckled, "I told you before, I have a shift with Terri."

Tony frowned, "I don't want you to go!" He then grinned, "Call in sick." Ziva chuckled again and stood from the bed, causing Tony to fall over. "I don't understand why we just don't go over there and shoot the guy. He knows we're cops."

"He does not know that Terri and I are _federal agents_, Tony, and we have to see who else he is associated with."

"He knows you're with me." Tony said softly, and suddenly became worried as he stood from the bed, placing both of his hands on her shoulders, "He could try and hurt you." Ziva smiled and put her hands on his chest.

"Tony, I am fine." She said, her voice soft. "We will just be observing him."

Tony sighed, kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug. "Okay." He let her go and sighed, "Lets go get some lunch."

Ziva smiled, kissed him, and walked towards the door, "I do not have time, Tony. But you go and get something for yourself. I will get something from the machine."

"But..." He started, when one finger was pressed against his lips.

"Silence is treasured."

Tony laughed and kissed her, "Golden."

She smiled and left the room, walking the few steps down to the watch room.

Pulling Tony's sweatshirt over her hands, she entered the room, and instantly felt chill bumps surface her skin. She half smiled at Terri and sat down next her. "Good morning." Terri mumbled and put a cup of coffee in front of the Israeli.

"Todah." Ziva said, and took the warm cup in her hands, taking a sip. The warm liquid felt good to her throat, and she smiled contently.

Terri chuckled softly and nodded towards the monitor, which currently had Corrado on the screen. "He's back." She said, "He got up this morning, took a shower, and now is eating some lunch."

"Any visitors?" Ziva asked.

Terri shook her head, "Russ said no, and none have stopped by since I've been here."

Ziva sighed, "I am...worried, that because he knows Tony and Jason are law enforcement officers, that he will not do his business here."

Terri nodded, "Yes, but it doesn't seem like he knows that we're watching him." Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "He knows that Tony and Jason are cops, but he doesn't seem worried or concerned that there may be cameras on him. See?" She pointed to the monitor, "He's completely relaxed."

Ziva narrowed her eyes at her, looked at the monitor, and then back at Terri, "Perhaps you are right." Feeling a shiver, she picked up her coffee and wrapped her hands around the cup, in hopes to warm her up a little. She sensed that Terri was watching her, and looked over slowly, "Yes?"

"Are you and DiNozzo getting married?"

Ziva looked down at her right hand, and then back up at Terri. She chuckled softly, "No."

"That's an engagement ring." Terri said.

Ziva looked up at her, "It is just a ring."

"Oh, so you don't want to marry him?"

Ziva snapped her eyes back up at her. She suddenly felt nervous and her stomach churned inside of her, "I do not know."

Terri smiled, "Because from what I've seen, you two already act like a married couple."

Ziva shook her head, "We do not." As if on cue, Tony DiNozzo threw open the door and walked in, a smile on his face as he walked over to his girlfriend.

"Morning, Ter." He walked over and leaned over Ziva, placing the brown paper sack on the table in front of her, "Brought you lunch, sweetcheeks."

Ziva half smiled at him and looked up, "Thank you, Tony."

"No problem!" He said, the smile never leaving his face. There was an awkward silence in the room until Tony spoke again, "Well, I can see that I interrupted that 'girl talk' that always happens when two women are in a room together, so I'll exit stage left." He leaned down and kissed Ziva before walking to the door, "Enjoy, sweetheart."

Terri chuckled and looked over at Ziva, a smile on her face. Ziva rolled her eyes and opened the brown bag, "That does not mean we act like a married couple. I wanted him to go get himself some lunch."

"And he brought you lunch. That's exactly what husbands do for their wives."

"Tony and I are not married."

Terri nodded and took a sip of her coffee, "Okay, but..." She started, "Do you think you'll ever get married?"

Ziva couldn't believe she was asking these questions, "I don't know, we have just started dating."

"But it's obvious that you two were in love long before you told each other." Ziva crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, "How long?"

Ziva was confused, "How long what?" She asked. She _really_ didn't want to talk about this anymore, but Terri continued.

"How long have you been in love with Tony?"

Ziva sighed and thought about it for a while. She honestly didn't know when it happened, but she did know that even on her first day, his smile made her feel weak at the knees. But it was against her training. "Three years." She admitted softly.

"Okay, here's my next question." Terri sat up closer to her, "Why didn't you tell him?"

"Tony is..." She stopped and thought, "...was a, what do you American's call it? A...winner?"

Terri raised one eyebrow, "You mean player?"

"Yes, a player." She started again, "Tony was a player. I did not know he had feelings for me."

"Yeah but if you would've told him, he would've known, and you two could've been married by now."

"Gibbs does not approve."

"What do you think he'll say when he finds out?"

Ziva sighed, "I do not know. Maybe he won't find out."

Terri chuckled slightly and reached in the back, helping herself to half of Ziva's lunch. "Trust me honey, from the way he looks at you, I'm sure you boss already knows. It's painfully, annoyingly, blatantly obvious he's head over heels in love with you."

Ziva stared.

Was it love?

She looked down at the engagement ring, and sighed deeply, her mind racing with thoughts of Tony.

She didn't know.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After 5 hours of sitting there, watching Corrado iron his clothes, clean out his refrigerator, take out the trash, call his mother, and 2 hours of television, Ziva was more than ready to get out of there.

The next shift on the schedule was Russell, Jason, and Tony. She was slightly disappointed that she wouldn't get to spend her free time with her boyfriend.

_More_ than slightly disappointed.

When Russell and Jason entered the room, it was Terri and Ziva's cue to leave, much to Ziva's relief. Terri closed the door behind them and smiled at Ziva.

"It was nice talking to you, Ziva." Terri admitted softly.

Ziva let a small smile across her lips, "You as well, Terri." She said, and then walked down to her room. Tony was laying on the bed, watching the 13-inch TV, his eyes squinted as he tried to make out the picture on the screen. "What are you watching?" She asked softly, and laid down on the bed beside him.

"I don't really know." He admitted, his head turned to one side in his confusion, "It's either Spongebob or some weird Italian porno." Ziva chuckled softly as he grabbed the remote, turning the idiot box off as he turned to her, "Hey you." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a passionate kiss, and Ziva suddenly felt warmer.

When she felt his hand under her shirt, just above the jeans she was wearing, she put two hands on his chest and pushed slightly, "Tony," She said breathlessly, "You have to go to the watch room."

Tony groaned, "They don't kiss as good as you do."

Ziva laughed, "I am sorry. Duty phones."

"Calls." Tony corrected her. She rolled her eyes and stood from the bed, his arm falling over the edge, dangling above the floor. "Zivaa!" He whined. Ziva turned to him again.

"Yes?"

"I don't want to go!" He said.

When Ziva ignored him, he stood from the bed and walked over to her, placing his hands on each of her shoulders. His face was very serious, "I want to spend what little time we have left in Italy with you."

Ziva half smiled and placed her hands on his face, and guided his lips to hers, placing a very passionate kiss on them. Tony moaned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, until, that is, Ziva decided to break the kiss. She smiled devilishly, staring him right in his eyes, "There will be more tonight, if you go to work like a good little boy."

Tony grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist, grinding his hips into hers, "Maybe I want to be a bad little boy." He leaned down to kiss her, but instead of feeling her soft, pink lips, he felt her palm.

"Go, Tony."

Tony sighed deeply and decided that he wasn't going to win, so he walked around her and to the he opened it, he turned back towards her, "Okay, but you owe me."

"Ah, nice of you to join us, Dipshit." Jason commented.

Tony half smiled, "That's all you can come up with? Honestly? Because Tommy Farris thought that one up in the third grade. So you're gonna need some new material."

Deciding to ignore them, Russell spoke, "Corrado's not there. Had a visitor, left with him."

"Did he look familiar?"

"Not that I could tell."

"Maybe if you would be here on time instead of next door with your damn girlfriend you could've ID'd him." Jason stated.

"You might want to keep your mouth shut, Scott." Tony said. Jason stood quickly, pushing his chair backwards, facing the special agent.

"You actually think I'm afraid of you, DiNozzo?"

Tony laughed and crossed his arms, "I don't give a damn if you're afraid or not."

"I will-" Just as Jason started to reply, Terri entered the room. She hurried over to them, stepping between them and spreading her arms out.

"Guys! Can you please act your age?!" She yelled.

Tony smirked again and walked over to the monitors, "Have we seen the visitor before, Terri?"

Terri stared at Jason for several seconds before walking over and standing by Tony, looking down at the monitors as they watched Corrado turn on the television. "No, they looked a lot alike, could be his brother. They went to a cafe, had coffee, and came back."

"Could be an accomplice." Russell said.

"Eh, it's doubtful. They were way to close, acted more of friends than business partners." She watched for a few more minutes, and then turned to leave the room, "Jason," He looked at her, "Can I talk to you for just a second?"

Jason walked out into the hall with Terri and she shut the door, keeping on hand on the handle, "What in the hell is up with you?"

"What are you talking about, Terri?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Stop acting like an idiot. Tony is with Ziva, they're happy, you're not gonna get to have sex with her, get over it. Stop making comments that you know is going to piss Tony off. You're wasting your breath."

Jason laughed sarcastically, "You think so, huh?"

"No, Jace. I know so. Grow up." She let go of the handle and walked down to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Another hour of silence dragged by, mostly because the three men really didn't have anything to say to each other. Corrado was currently making dinner,and Tony suddenly felt hungry, standing quickly from the table. Russell looked at Jason and Jason returned his stare, both of them then looking back at Tony, "Where in the hell are you going?"

"To have dinner with my girlfriend. See yah." And with that, he closed the door behind him.

He walked into their room, smiling when he saw her, laying on the bed, reading a book. He walked quietly, careful not to let the change in his pockets jingle. He leaned down and kissed her neck, actually surprised that he could sneak up on her like that.

She smiled up at him and pulled him into a kiss, "You know," A kiss, "The last man that snuck up on me," A kiss, "Was not a man anymore."

Tony laughed and suddenly became serious, "You mean..." Ziva smiled and nodded slowly, and Tony gulped. "Oh. Well, as much fun as it _is_ to sneak up on you, I think you'd rather I stay the manly man I am."

Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together as Tony got all the way on the bed, so that he was hovering over her, "Did you just say 'manly man'?" Tony laughed and kissed her again, but she broke it quickly. She needed answers, "What are you doing here?"

"Well I'm trying to give you a kiss, but you keep stopping me."

"Tony, what about your shift?"

"Are you saying you don't like my kisses?"

"No, that's not what I am saying."

"Okay then." He leaned down again, but she put her hand over his mouth.

"Tony..." She warned.

He sighed into her hand, "I scheduled the three of us together, but they really can handle it on their own. I told them I was going to get food, and that I'd be back." He lied.

Ziva smiled, "Where is this...food, then?"

"Um, at the restaurant."

"What restaurant?"

"The one I'm gonna take you to." He grinned his famous DiNozzo grin, leaned down and kissed her, stood from the bed, and pulled her up in the process.

As much as Ziva didn't want to get into with Gibbs about "slacking off the job", she was glad he got out of it. And when he reached down and took her hand as they walked, she honestly didn't care what Gibbs was going to say.

Anthony DiNozzo wasn't _just_ Anthony DiNozzo anymore.

He was a caring, sweet, loving man, that she now proudly called her boyfriend.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Tony asked, a famous DiNozzo grin stretched across his face.

Ziva smiled and wrapped her arms around herself, for it was _very_ cold outside. "How cold it is." Ziva lied.

Tony chuckled lightly and wrapped his arms around her, holding her like a teddy bear as they walked, "I know a couple of things that can warm us up."

Ziva chuckled, "I bet you do, Tony."

Suddenly, Tony turned with her into an Italian clothes shop, and it conveniently had winter clothes all through it. Tony looked down at her and smiled, "Take your pick, Zi."

Ziva chuckled, "Tony, do not be ridiculous. Lets go get something to eat."

"We're not leaving here until you pick out something." Tony said, standing in the middle of the shop, his arms crossed. Ziva scoffed and walked out the door and into the cold. She stood there for several minutes, waiting on Tony to join her. When she realized that he wasn't going to budge, she walked back in and stormed over to him.

"DiNozzo!" She said loudly.

"Yes my ninja?"

She scoffed, turned and pointed to the door, "Lets go!"

"Pick out something and we will." Ziva stared at him for several minutes and finally scoffed, walking over to the shelf with the purses, wallets, belts and scarves. She looked at them, none of them really catching her eye. She picked up a wallet and walked back over to Tony, handing it to him.

"There. Now pay for it and lets go."

"No, Ziva. This isn't going to keep you warm."

Ziva rolled her eyes and snatched the wallet from his hand, walking quickly back over to the accessories." She looked through them, some plain, some were colorful, others were white or black. She rolled her eyes and picked the one that first caught her eye. It was a teal color, and the design on it was beautiful. She took it off of the peg it was on, looking down at it with a slight smile on her face.

Tony appeared next to her, looking over her shoulder, "Is that what you want, sweetcheeks?"

Ziva glanced up at him, and then back down at the price tag. She didn't speak Italian, but she knew numbers, "No, Tony. It is too expensive."

"No it's not." He took it from her, "Anything else?"

"Tony..." She said, following him to the register. After paying for it, he handed Ziva the bag, put his wallet in his back pocket, and grabbed her hand walking out of the store with. In the meantime, he listened to Ziva go on and on about how he shouldn't have bought it. He finally stopped in the middle of the busy sidewalk, gently grabbing her shoulders, stopping all talking that she was doing.

"Ziva." She stared at him, "Hush." He said softly, a smile on his face, "I wanted to buy it for you." With one hand, he reached down into the bag and pulled it out, "Besides, you need it right now to keep you warm. Your lips are almost blue." He wrapped it around her neck and moved her hair so that it was behind it. "See? Warm!" He said, a smile on his face. He placed a kiss on her cold lips and wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked.

After a nice, quiet, Italian dinner, Tony and Ziva began to walk back to the hotel. It was quiet for a long time, each of them enjoying the beautiful night, and, not to mention, each other's company. Temporarily, they forgot that they were in Italy for a reason. Once she remembered, Ziva looked at him and smiled. "What?" He asked innocently.

"You were supposed to bring something back for Russ and Jason, yes?"

Tony laughed, "Oh yeah. Guess I forgot. Oh well." Ziva laughed and shook her head in disbelief. They continued to walk, enjoying the night.

But something bothered Ziva.

Tony noticed her uneasiness and looked at her, a slight smile on his face, "You okay, Zi?"

Ziva stopped dead in her tracks as she looked around, "I feel like someone is watching us." She said softly.

Tony laughed and pressed a kiss against her cheek, "You are so paranoid sometimes." He said, "Come on, nobody is watching us, Ziva."

She heard him, but decided to ignore him as she continued to look around. Tony was now a few steps ahead of her, so he walked back and grabbed her hand, pulling her as he walked, "Come on babe." Ziva reluctantly started walking with him again, but she looked around again just to make sure.

Something. Wasn't. Right.

As they rounded a corner, Tony saw an opportunity to have some alone time with Ziva, so he pulled her into a dark alley, the only light was the moonlight shining down.

Ziva had no idea what this was, but she liked it.

"What are you doing?" She asked softly.

Tony grinned, his back up against the wall as he grabbed her scarf, pulling her to a passionate kiss. He deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist as she played with the base of his hair. Soon, they were both in desperate need of oxygen, so they broke, their breathing labored. "You're amazing." Tony leaned his forehead on hers, a smile on both of their faces. "I'm in love with you, Ziva." He said softly. Ziva smiled, kissed him, and started to respond when his cell phone rang on his belt. He laughed and kissed her, "Hold that thought."

As he walked further into the alley, Ziva's mind raced.

He had just told her that he was in love with her.

But, there was a problem, and it broke her heart into a million pieces.

She _couldn't_ love him.

She watched Tony for a little before looking back down the street. She got that feeling once again, the one that made her spine tingle as she looked around. She heard Tony's phone snap shut and she jumped slightly. Either that was louder than normal, or she was just being paranoid.

Like Tony said.

Tony grinned as he walked back towards her, "So that was Gibbs."

"Someone is watching us." She muttered, her eyes darting in every direction, trying to find out where the peeper was.

Tony groaned, "Ziva, _no one _is watching us."

"You do not know that!" She snapped and he laughed.

"Maybe it's just something in that drink you had tonight." He wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing a kiss up against her temple, "Let's go." He urged, starting out of the alley and back down the street.

Ziva couldn't keep her heart rate down though; it was unusually high.

She had a bad feeling in her gut that something was going to happen to them. Something awful.

She just didn't know _what. _

And that was what bugged her.

"Tony something is not right." She muttered.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Let's just go back to the hotel, okay? You're just being paranoid, freaky ninja chick."

She sighed and glanced over her shoulder, "Fine, but-" She was interrupted by a loud gunshot, "TONY!" Ziva shouted, all but tackling him to the ground, their bodies skidding up against the concrete, dirt gathering on their clothes, "You okay?" Ziva muttered, struggling to get herself off of him, her scarf nearly falling off from around her neck.

"Let's get this bastard." Tony muttered as he helped himself off of the ground, pulling Ziva up in the process.

Tony reached for his gun and then started into a full out run towards the alley that, who they obviously knew, Corrado, ran down moments before, "Tony!" Ziva hissed, under her breath, reaching for her gun as well, "Tony!" As much as she didn't want to blow her cover by pulling out her gun, she realized that today could be the 'end ' of Corrado, and she wanted that to come as soon as possible at this point.

Tony motioned for her to stop walking and to get up against the building. She shoved her back up against the brick, her gun in the ready position as he leaned down towards her, "Call Terri, Jason, Russell, anyone. We need backup. Give them the address, tell them ASAP."

She nodded and dialed the number quickly, the first one she could get, "In pursuit of Corrado, building on second and third, need backup." And with that, she hung up the phone, slipping it back into her pocket. She nodded and Tony, when he looked at her, and then they hurried into the building that Corrado had disappeared in. Tony motioned for her to stay back as he started through the deserted warehouse, maneuvering around the boxes in the dark.

Ziva kept her gun drawn as she crossed the floor quietly, careful not to make a sound.

The room was stuffy, extremely dusty, and it seemed as if it hadn't been used in a while. Most of the boxes and crates had a thin layer of dust over them, except for one set that was in the corner of the warehouse. Sticking her head around one of the crates and locking eyes with Tony, she nodded, pointed her gun towards the boxes in the corner, which he nodded at, and then started towards them.

Still making the same, quiet steps, she made it over to the corner, carefully looking around and then, with one hand, starting to pry open the box when she stopped.

Froze.

She heard the distinct sound of what sounded like a match being lit. Gripping her gun with two hands, she felt her heart rate accelerate as she started back, quickly, towards where she last saw Tony.

Her course took a rather nasty turn of events, however, when the entire other side of the building ignited into a coarse, burning flame, Ziva stopping dead in her tracks, the flaming yellow, oranges, and reds mixing with the chocolate brown in her eyes.

And, suddenly, instead of thinking of Corrado, or in this case now, her own life, she could only think of Tony's.

Where was he?

Last time she had left him, she had left him...

She gulped.

On the same side the flame was engulfing. She heard a crumpling and she looked up above, hurrying out of the way as a large pillar that was obviously part of the rough came crumpling down. Throwing herself down onto the ground, she got extremely close to catching her hair on fire...if she hadn't had pulled it back, she definitely would have lost that.

Smoke started filling her lungs and she was finding it slightly difficult to breath.

She wondered just how long it was going to take Terri, Russell, and Jason to get out here.

Or for the fire department to see the smoke.

But her mind shouldn't be set on her safety...it should be set on _Tony's. _

She heaved herself off of the ground, her back burning from heat as well as other parts of her body.

She ignored that, however, and continued her pursuit for her partner. She ducked under another piece of the ceiling that had fallen down, brushing her back up against the bottom of it. Wincing slightly, she shouted through the flames, "Tony!"

Not receiving an answer, she felt her heart drop slightly.

If she lost him, without telling him how she truly felt about him, even if she 'couldn't', she was going to hate herself for the rest of her miserable life.

She coughed, trying to get the smoke out of her lungs, the temperature rising of the building.

She stopped, flames surrounding her everywhere.

Nearly squinting, she thought she caught a glimpse of Tony's jacket. She heard crackling above and started running forwards when she heard her name being shouted, "Ziva! Watch out!" She snapped her eyes up and caught hers with Tony's, who was coughing horribly, and seeming to be in a large amount of pain. He was, of course, laying on the ground. She ducked and hurried towards him, just as the part of the ceiling fell down, blocking part of their exit.

Even through the heat and the flames, she brushed the hair that fell in front of his face out of the way, "Are you okay?"

He shook his head and she sighed. At least he was being honest, "I...can't...breathe." he admitted, "Damn plague."

"Come on, we gotta get you out." She coughed. _Her _lungs felt as if they were on fire; she couldn't even imagine how Tony felt, "Can you walk?"

He nodded, and that was all she needed to hear. She helped him up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and carefully starting towards the door, trying to avoid getting more burnt that she already was, Tony's desperate want for air apparent in her ear, even through the crackling of the fire.

Ziva knew what ignited the fire as well: petroleum.

And it was only a matter of time before wherever the line of fire went got to the 'central source' and the entire place went up in flames.

She hurried both of them towards the door, and just barely made it out and towards the street again when there was a loud boom.

The two were thrown onto the street, Ziva laying on top of Tony as he continued to breathe heavily, fighting for oxygen to enter his lungs. Her back burned and she was sure she was going to have a mark or two there.

She didn't even bother to get off of him as she gripped his jacket, holding him to her, listening to his breathing and thanking that they were actually alive.

And they stayed like that, the only sounds the whirring of sirens from both the police and the fire department and Tony's breathing as the fire started dying down, the night fading away.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ziva didn't move off of Tony until she was forced to by the paramedics. She held onto him as long as possible, until the men made them separate, Tony went to one ambulance and Ziva went to the other. After that, they were forced to go to the hospital, where they were made to stay apart.

Several hours passed, and Tony was the first one out of his room. The doctor objected to his leaving, but agreed that his breathing was okay enough for him to be released.

Ziva emerged from her room, and Tony walked over to her, taking her into his arms for a tight hug. She winced slightly, but kept it quiet, because all she wanted to do was hold him.

They stood there, in the hospital, holding each other_, _the world oblivious around them. After a long silence, Tony finally spoke into her ear, "I'm so sorry, Ziva." He sighed, "Are you okay?"

Still not letting him go, she responded, "I am fine."

Finally, he broke the hug, and cupped her face with both hands, "I should've listened to you." Ziva said nothing as she leaned up and pressed a kiss on his lips.

Tony grabbed her hand and they walked down the hall, to the lobby where Terri, Russell and Jason sat. Terri was the first to stand when she saw them, and walked up to meet them, followed by Russell and Jason.

"What happened?" Terri asked.

Tony swallowed, "We were on the way back and Corrado shot at us. He ran into the building, knowing that we'd follow him. It was a trap." Tony said softly. "When we saw the flames, it was too late to get out."

"Was there anybody with Corrado?" Russell asked. Tony looked at the floor, and then back up at the geek.

"Couldn't tell."

During this conversation, the fact that Jason didn't take his stare off of Ziva didn't go unnoticed by Tony. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. Finally, Jason spoke, "You okay?"

Ziva narrowed her eyes at him and spoke softly, "_We_ are fine." She said.

Jason said nothing as he turned and walked to the elevator.

"You two probably need your rest, shall we head back?" Terri asked. Tony and Ziva both nodded and piled onto the elevator with them.

In the small rental car that Terri had rented, there was barely enough room for three people in the back, so somehow, Ziva ended up sitting on Tony's lap.

And that was completely fine with him.

The ride was quiet, none of the agents really had anything to say.

Ziva's head rested on Tony's shoulder, and his arms were wrapped around her, holding her to him. He nuzzled into her neck and gently kissed it, whispering into it, his lips vibrating on her skin, "I'm so sorry, Ziva." He said again. She reached up and ran a hand through his hair and down to his face, her thumb tracing his lips.

"It is not your fault, Tony." She whispered back. They were speaking so softly that Russell couldn't hear them from his seat next to them.

Finally back at the hotel, and after bidding the FBI people goodnight, Tony and Ziva walked into their room, his hand never leaving hers. Neither one bothered to change from the set of greens that the hospital gave them, mostly because they assumed that it would hurt too much.

Ziva sat down on the bed, squinting her eyes shut in pain. Tony sat down on the opposite side and started to lay down, but when Ziva didn't, he became concerned. He got on his knees and walked over to her, careful not to move the bed too much as he neared her. "Ziva?" He questioned, his voice soft and slightly broken, "You okay?"

She nodded, trying her best to avoid eye contact from him. "I am fine." She said softly.

Tony rolled his eyes. He was _really_ tired of hearing that from her. Her hair was down, so he couldn't see much of her back and she had long sleeves on under the top. He moved her hair to over her shoulder and then he saw it.

A _burn_.

His gut clenched and he leaned down, very gently touching his lips to the first degree burn. Ziva shivered at the sudden cold air that her skin felt, she couldn't help it. "Let me see." He said softly. Just from seeing the one on her neck, he knew there was more under her clothes. Ziva didn't argue as he slowly lifted the green top, leaving the plain, white, long sleeved shirt. He then carefully lifted that one, and chill bumps surfaced her skin.

He studied her, and shut his eyes as he saw the burns on her back. Her bra straps were carefully placed on her shoulders, so that they wouldn't touch the ones on her shoulder. He slowly unhooked her bra and took the straps off of her, and Ziva honestly felt instant relief. Carefully, slowly, he pressed his lips on each one of them, as if his lips would heal her immediately. She let out a soft moan, she couldn't help it.

Even in her current pain, the man knew how to work miracles with his mouth.

Tony was slightly relieved for she had a few bandages on, but none of the burns passed the surface of the skin. Tony closed his eyes, wishing that he could take the pain away from her and put it onto himself. Then, he turned her around, so that her legs were on the bed with him, and studied her front.

Her front wasn't near as bad, only a few scrapes and bruises that were forming.

He then pulled her into a hug, "I am so sorry, Ziva."

Ziva sighed, "It is not your fault." She said again. As she hugged him, she noticed a red spot similar to hers at the edge of the sleeve, so she moved it up further. "Tony..." She said softly. She didn't even ask as she quickly pulled his top off, tossing it somewhere in the room. She traced her finger slowly over the pink skin, and like Tony, she placed her lips on them.

Suddenly feeling cold, she tucked her arms in front of her and he pulled her even closer, her thighs between his. "I am fine." She said again. Tony leaned down and kissed her, and this time, it turned passionate.

Slowly, he traced kisses down her neck and her shoulders. His hands roamed her torso, careful not to put too much pressure on it anywhere. "Tony..." She breathed. He stopped all movements and looked her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ziva, I'll stop."

She shook her head, "No. I need pleasure." She said, looking dead into his eyes, "Please."

Tony nodded, for he understood. Laying her down carefully on the bed, he continued with his kisses all over her body, giving the burns special attention. Ziva wiggled under his touch, and the grinding of the sheets on her skin made her yelp in pain. Tony got off of her quickly, his heart about to beat out of his chest.

"I can't do this to you." He said.

Ziva caught her breath and got onto her knees pushing him down in the process, "I need this, Tony." She said softly. She climbed on top of him and moaned as she started to rock, finding a rhythm immediately.

Soon after, Ziva moaned, both from the pleasure and the pain from her burns, and she collapsed on top of Tony, who was breathing just as hard as she was.

His breathing was a little ragged, and Ziva was concerned for several minuets, but soon after, it returned to normal. She reluctantly started to get off of him, for she was actually comfortable laying on top of him, but Tony wrapped his arm tighter around her waist. "No, Ziva. I'll be your pillow tonight." She leaned up and kissed his chin.

Tony's left arm was around her waist while his right hand ran through her hair, which was currently being kept off of her back. She stared to drift off to sleep, but all she could think about was the fire and how worried she was about Tony when she had no idea where he was.

And then, laying there in his arms, she realized something.

Although she was in severe pain, she was the happiest she'd been in a long time.

And it was all because of him. In Mossad, she was taught not to love, because love would "cause problems" as her father put it. So she didn't, not for every year that she'd lived.

Leaning up further, so that she was at his ear, she kissed it gently and whispered softly her lips grazing his ear as she spoke, "I love you too." He turned his head, a famous DiNozzo grin stretched across his lips. He kissed her, and it was perfect at that moment.

She nuzzled into his neck, and fell quickly into a deep sleep, the smile never leaving her face.

She was happy.

Mossad rules be damned.


End file.
